Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Poland
Poland: Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary was 33.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Poland, 1970–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in cumulative.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Poland stood at 33.3%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.1% on the previous year and up 39.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Poland peaked at 33.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.4%, in 1970.
That places Poland 40th out of 129 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Poland, year by year
| Year | cumulative | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5.4% | — |
| 1978 | 5.7% | +5.6% |
| 1988 | 7.9% | +38.1% |
| 1997 | 11.7% | +48.6% |
| 1998 | 9.7% | -17.3% |
| 1999 | 10.2% | +5.3% |
| 2000 | 10.3% | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 10.8% | +4.6% |
| 2002 | 12.4% | +14.5% |
| 2003 | 12.8% | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 14.2% | +11.1% |
| 2005 | 15.3% | +7.7% |
| 2006 | 16.1% | +5.1% |
| 2007 | 16.7% | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 17.5% | +4.5% |
| 2009 | 18.8% | +7.8% |
| 2010 | 20.3% | +7.9% |
| 2011 | 21.1% | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 21.8% | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 22.8% | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 23.9% | +4.8% |
| 2015 | 24.5% | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 25.0% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 26.1% | +4.4% |
| 2018 | 26.8% | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 27.6% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 28.2% | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 27.9% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 28.9% | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 32.0% | +10.6% |
| 2024 | 33.3% | +4.1% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 33.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 37.8%, 88% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Poland's 33.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 35.4%, 94% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Poland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +48.6% | 7.9% | 11.7% |
| 1988 | +38.1% | 5.7% | 7.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.6% | 5.4% | 5.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 1 |
| 1990s | 10.5% | 9.7% | 11.7% | 3 |
| 2000s | 14.5% | 10.3% | 18.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.0% | 20.3% | 27.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.1% | 27.9% | 33.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Poland
More education data for Poland
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.55 (2020)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.91 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 322,900 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 15,398 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 776,213 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 735,804 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.33 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.60 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.04 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Poland?
- Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Poland was 33.3% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary recorded in Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 33.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.4% in 1970.
- How does Poland rank for educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary?
- Poland ranks 40th out of 129 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Poland data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary, population 25+, total (%) (cumulative). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed short-cycle tertiary education.