Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both was 64.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Portugal, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Portugal recorded 64.5% for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in 2024. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 25.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Portugal peaked at 64.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.5%, in 1970.
That places Portugal 82nd out of 135 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 … lower both in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 8.5% | — |
| 1981 | 14.0% | +65.9% |
| 1991 | 22.4% | +59.9% |
| 1998 | 23.6% | +5.4% |
| 1999 | 24.3% | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 25.3% | +4.0% |
| 2001 | 26.3% | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 27.2% | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 29.2% | +7.3% |
| 2004 | 31.9% | +9.2% |
| 2005 | 33.4% | +4.9% |
| 2006 | 35.0% | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 35.5% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 37.5% | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 39.7% | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 41.3% | +4.1% |
| 2011 | 45.0% | +9.0% |
| 2012 | 47.2% | +4.9% |
| 2013 | 49.3% | +4.4% |
| 2014 | 51.4% | +4.4% |
| 2015 | 52.7% | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 54.2% | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 55.2% | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 54.3% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 58.0% | +6.7% |
| 2020 | 60.7% | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 58.0% | -4.6% |
| 2022 | 62.3% | +7.4% |
| 2023 | 62.9% | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 64.5% | +2.5% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 64.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 91.6%, 70% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 64.5% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 95.4%, 68% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in Portugal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +65.9% | 8.5% | 14.0% |
| 1991 | +59.9% | 14.0% | 22.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.5% | 8.5% | 8.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 14.0% | 14.0% | 14.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 23.5% | 22.4% | 24.3% | 3 |
| 2000s | 32.1% | 25.3% | 39.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 50.9% | 41.3% | 58.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 61.7% | 58.0% | 64.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.73 (2019)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.49 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 82,664 (2018)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 11,380 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 136,282 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 128,743 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 741,752 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 598,661 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (2023)
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 64.5% 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 64.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.5% in 1970.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- Portugal ranks 82nd out of 135 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 25.3%. 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, both sexes (%). 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