Completion rate, upper secondary education, both … modelled data both in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Completion rate, upper secondary education, both … modelled data both was 90.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
90.3%
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
29th
of 164 countries
All-time high
90.3%
in 2025
All-time low
82.8%
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025
Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in United Kingdom, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 90.3% for completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in United Kingdom peaked at 90.3% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 82.8%, in 1981.
United Kingdom ranks 29th of 164 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Completion rate, upper secondary education, both … modelled data both in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 82.8% | — |
| 1982 | 83.0% | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 83.3% | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 83.6% | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 83.8% | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 84.0% | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 84.3% | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 84.6% | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 84.8% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 85.1% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 85.4% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 85.7% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 86.1% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 86.5% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 86.8% | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 87.0% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 87.2% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 87.3% | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 87.4% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 87.4% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 87.4% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 87.5% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 87.5% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 87.5% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 87.5% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 87.6% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 87.6% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 87.7% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 87.6% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 87.7% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 87.7% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 87.9% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 88.1% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 88.3% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 88.5% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 88.6% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 88.8% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 88.9% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 89.1% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 89.3% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 89.5% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 89.7% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 89.9% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 90.1% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 90.3% | +0.2% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 90.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 87.5%, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 90.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 89.0%, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 83.8% | 82.8% | 84.8% | 9 |
| 1990s | 86.4% | 85.1% | 87.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 87.5% | 87.4% | 87.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 88.4% | 87.7% | 89.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 89.8% | 89.3% | 90.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.73 (2018)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.93 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 388,714 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2012)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 830,495 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 790,556 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in United Kingdom?
- Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in United Kingdom was 90.3% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 90.3% in 2025.
- What is the lowest completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 82.8% in 1981.
- How does United Kingdom rank for completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data)?
- United Kingdom ranks 29th out of 164 countries with data for 2025.
- Is completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release