Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or was 64.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Portugal, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Portugal stood at 64.9%. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
The figure is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 24.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Portugal peaked at 64.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 11.6%, in 1970.
Portugal ranks 82nd of 132 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 lower secondary education or in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11.6% | — |
| 1981 | 17.0% | +46.2% |
| 1991 | 25.0% | +47.6% |
| 1998 | 25.3% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 25.8% | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 26.5% | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 27.7% | +4.5% |
| 2002 | 28.6% | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 30.3% | +6.0% |
| 2004 | 33.0% | +8.6% |
| 2005 | 34.4% | +4.4% |
| 2006 | 36.0% | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 36.2% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 38.2% | +5.5% |
| 2009 | 40.3% | +5.5% |
| 2010 | 41.6% | +3.2% |
| 2011 | 45.1% | +8.6% |
| 2012 | 47.3% | +4.8% |
| 2013 | 49.8% | +5.3% |
| 2014 | 52.2% | +4.8% |
| 2015 | 53.4% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 54.8% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 56.1% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 54.8% | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 58.6% | +6.9% |
| 2020 | 61.9% | +5.7% |
| 2021 | 58.6% | -5.3% |
| 2022 | 62.8% | +7.1% |
| 2023 | 63.3% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 64.9% | +2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11.6% | 11.6% | 11.6% | 1 |
| 1980s | 17.0% | 17.0% | 17.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 25.4% | 25.0% | 25.8% | 3 |
| 2000s | 33.1% | 26.5% | 40.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.4% | 41.6% | 58.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 62.3% | 58.6% | 64.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,022 tertiary education (2023)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 52,131 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 62.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 12.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Portugal?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Portugal was 64.9% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 64.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.6% in 1970.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- Portugal ranks 82nd out of 132 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.3%. 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 lower secondary 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