Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes was 84.5% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes in United Kingdom, 2006–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 84.5% for completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes in 2019. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes in United Kingdom peaked at 84.5% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 76.2%, in 2008.
That places United Kingdom 29th out of 95 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 77.4% | — |
| 2007 | 76.2% | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 76.2% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 77.2% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 77.1% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 79.3% | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 81.4% | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 80.8% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 82.5% | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 84.3% | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 83.0% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 83.3% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 82.7% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 84.5% | +2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 76.7% | 76.2% | 77.4% | 4 |
| 2010s | 81.9% | 77.1% | 84.5% | 10 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,022 tertiary education (2023)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 281,128 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes in United Kingdom?
- Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes in United Kingdom was 84.5% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 84.5% in 2019.
- What is the lowest completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 76.2% in 2008.
- How does United Kingdom rank for completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes?
- United Kingdom ranks 29th out of 95 countries with data for 2019.
- Is completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.5%. 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 (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release