Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male was 21.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Portugal, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Portugal stood at 21.4%. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.4% on the previous year and up 46.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Portugal peaked at 21.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.5%, in 1970.
Portugal ranks 43rd of 112 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.5% | — |
| 1981 | 4.9% | +93.6% |
| 1991 | 8.2% | +66.5% |
| 1998 | 6.2% | -24.4% |
| 1999 | 6.6% | +7.0% |
| 2000 | 6.6% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 6.6% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 6.3% | -4.5% |
| 2003 | 7.6% | +19.8% |
| 2004 | 8.9% | +16.7% |
| 2005 | 9.1% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 9.7% | +6.5% |
| 2007 | 9.5% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 9.8% | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 10.2% | +4.3% |
| 2010 | 10.6% | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 12.4% | +16.7% |
| 2012 | 13.4% | +7.9% |
| 2013 | 13.4% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 14.7% | +9.9% |
| 2015 | 15.4% | +4.6% |
| 2016 | 16.1% | +4.9% |
| 2017 | 16.1% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 15.4% | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 17.8% | +15.6% |
| 2020 | 19.1% | +7.2% |
| 2021 | 17.7% | -7.3% |
| 2022 | 19.7% | +11.6% |
| 2023 | 20.5% | +4.1% |
| 2024 | 21.4% | +4.4% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 21.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 26.4%, 81% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 21.4% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 24.0%, 89% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male in Portugal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +93.6% | 2.5% | 4.9% |
| 1991 | +66.5% | 4.9% | 8.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 1 |
| 1990s | 7.0% | 6.2% | 8.2% | 3 |
| 2000s | 8.5% | 6.3% | 10.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.5% | 10.6% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.7% | 17.7% | 21.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.73 (2019)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.49 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 82,664 (2018)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 11,380 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 136,282 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 128,743 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 741,752 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 598,661 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Portugal?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Portugal was 21.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 21.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.5% in 1970.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- Portugal ranks 43rd out of 112 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 46.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Portugal data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release