Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Pakistan
Pakistan: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent was 17.0% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Pakistan, 1981–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Pakistan stood at 17.0%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.5% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Pakistan peaked at 19.5% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 7.3%, in 2018.
That places Pakistan 63rd out of 90 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 7.8% | — |
| 2005 | 11.9% | +53.5% |
| 2006 | 16.1% | +34.9% |
| 2007 | 14.6% | -9.3% |
| 2008 | 14.8% | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 16.7% | +13.3% |
| 2010 | 16.7% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 17.1% | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 18.1% | +6.0% |
| 2013 | 18.9% | +4.2% |
| 2014 | 19.3% | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 17.6% | -8.7% |
| 2016 | 18.8% | +6.4% |
| 2017 | 19.5% | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 7.3% | -62.5% |
| 2019 | 18.6% | +154.7% |
| 2021 | 17.0% | -8.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 7.8% | 7.8% | 7.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 14.8% | 11.9% | 16.7% | 5 |
| 2010s | 17.2% | 7.3% | 19.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.0% | 17.0% | 17.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
- 60 Lao People's Democratic Republic 17.8% compare
- 61 Bangladesh 17.2% compare
- 62 Italy 17.2% compare
- 64 Malaysia 16.9% compare
- 65 Brunei Darussalam 16.1% compare
- 66 South Africa 16.1% compare
More education data for Pakistan
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 445,877 (2024)
- 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 59.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 36.2% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 10 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 83.73 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 83.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Pakistan?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Pakistan was 17.0% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 19.5% in 2017.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.3% in 2018.
- How does Pakistan rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- Pakistan ranks 63rd out of 90 countries with data for 2021.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Pakistan 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, urban, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release