Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in France
France: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both was 91.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in France, 1990–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
France recorded 91.6% for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in 2023. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 12.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in France peaked at 91.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 48.4%, in 1990.
France ranks 40th of 135 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in France, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 48.4% | — |
| 2004 | 74.1% | +53.3% |
| 2005 | 74.7% | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 76.9% | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 77.9% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 78.0% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 79.2% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 79.8% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 80.5% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 81.5% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 82.6% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 83.2% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 83.7% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 84.2% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 84.9% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 85.6% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 86.5% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 90.7% | +4.9% |
| 2022 | 91.0% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 91.6% | +0.6% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 91.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 91.6%, 100% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- France's 91.6% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 95.4%, 96% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in France 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +53.3% | 48.4% | 74.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 48.4% | 48.4% | 48.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 76.3% | 74.1% | 78.0% | 5 |
| 2010s | 82.5% | 79.2% | 85.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 90.0% | 86.5% | 91.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near France
- 37 Samoa 92.3% compare
- 38 Finland 91.7% compare
- 39 Israel 91.6% compare
- 41 Cook Islands 90.9% compare
- 42 Luxembourg 90.7% compare
- 43 Netherlands 90.3% compare
More education data for France
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.97 (2016)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.8 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 457,956 (2019)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 43,533 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.19 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.14 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.27 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.13 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.27 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in France?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in France was 91.6% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 91.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.4% in 1990.
- How does France rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- France ranks 40th out of 135 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release