Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary was 5.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Sri Lanka, 1971–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in cumulative.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 5.5% for educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in 2024. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 55.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Sri Lanka peaked at 5.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1981.
That places Sri Lanka 117th out of 129 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | cumulative | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 2.3% | — |
| 1981 | 1.1% | -53.0% |
| 2010 | 2.7% | +158.7% |
| 2011 | 3.0% | +10.4% |
| 2013 | 3.4% | +12.9% |
| 2014 | 3.6% | +4.1% |
| 2015 | 3.8% | +6.3% |
| 2016 | 4.1% | +7.3% |
| 2017 | 4.2% | +4.4% |
| 2018 | 4.4% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 4.5% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 4.8% | +6.6% |
| 2021 | 5.0% | +4.3% |
| 2022 | 5.1% | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 5.5% | +7.4% |
| 2024 | 5.5% | +0.9% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 5.5% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 20.1%, 28% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Sri Lanka 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +158.7% | 1.1% | 2.7% |
| 1981 | -53.0% | 2.3% | 1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 1 |
| 1980s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 2.7% | 4.5% | 9 |
| 2020s | 5.2% | 4.8% | 5.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 91.41 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 90.86 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Sri Lanka?
- Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Sri Lanka was 5.5% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 5.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary?
- Sri Lanka ranks 117th out of 129 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.
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About this data
The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed short-cycle tertiary education.