Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both in Iran
Iran: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both was 17.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Iran, 2005–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Iran is 17.9%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Iran peaked at 18.2% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 2009.
Iran ranks 56th of 112 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both in Iran, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 6.1% | — |
| 2006 | 5.7% | -6.4% |
| 2007 | 5.4% | -5.4% |
| 2008 | 4.9% | -9.4% |
| 2009 | 4.5% | -8.7% |
| 2012 | 14.8% | +231.7% |
| 2013 | 16.3% | +10.2% |
| 2014 | 16.9% | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 18.2% | +7.8% |
| 2019 | 16.7% | -8.2% |
| 2020 | 16.7% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 17.2% | +3.0% |
| 2022 | 17.7% | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 17.9% | +1.3% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 17.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 17.4%, 1.0× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Iran's 17.9% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 24.8%, 72% of the median. (12 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both in Iran 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +231.7% | 4.5% | 14.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.3% | 4.5% | 6.1% | 5 |
| 2010s | 16.6% | 14.8% | 18.2% | 5 |
| 2020s | 17.4% | 16.7% | 17.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More education data for Iran
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.5 (2020)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.9 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 406,399 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 108,066 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 519,698 (2020)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 505,053 (2020)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.62 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 9.09 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.31 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Iran?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Iran was 17.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 18.2% in 2016.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 2009.
- How does Iran rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- Iran ranks 56th out of 112 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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 — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release