Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both in Canada
Canada: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both was 34.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Canada, 1990–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Canada is 34.7%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.4% on the previous year and up 34.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Canada peaked at 34.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 12.5%, in 1990.
That places Canada 18th out of 112 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 12.5% | — |
| 1991 | 12.8% | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 13.6% | +5.7% |
| 1993 | 14.4% | +5.9% |
| 1994 | 14.9% | +4.0% |
| 1995 | 15.1% | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 15.4% | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 15.9% | +3.3% |
| 1998 | 16.2% | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 17.0% | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 17.8% | +4.5% |
| 2001 | 18.3% | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 18.8% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 19.7% | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 19.8% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 20.7% | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 21.5% | +3.8% |
| 2007 | 22.0% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 22.4% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 22.7% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 23.6% | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 24.1% | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 24.8% | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 25.4% | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 25.7% | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 26.6% | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 25.8% | -3.1% |
| 2017 | 27.9% | +8.5% |
| 2018 | 28.5% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 29.8% | +4.4% |
| 2020 | 31.0% | +4.0% |
| 2021 | 29.3% | -5.3% |
| 2022 | 32.4% | +10.3% |
| 2023 | 32.9% | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 34.7% | +5.4% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 34.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.7%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.8% | 12.5% | 17.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.4% | 17.8% | 22.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.2% | 23.6% | 29.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.0% | 29.3% | 34.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More education data for Canada
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 95.11 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 95.01 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 133,275 (1996)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2011)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 291,075 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 273,465 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.70 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.43 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.83 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Canada?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Canada was 34.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 34.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.5% in 1990.
- How does Canada rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- Canada ranks 18th out of 112 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release