Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent was 14.7% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent in United Kingdom, 2013–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in United Kingdom stood at 14.7%. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.9% on the previous year and up 73.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in United Kingdom peaked at 14.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 8.5%, in 2013.
That places United Kingdom 21st out of 78 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 9.8% | 8.5% | 12.0% | 3 |
| 2020s | 14.3% | 14.0% | 14.7% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 281,128 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0041 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in United Kingdom?
- Educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in United Kingdom was 14.7% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 14.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.5% in 2013.
- How does United Kingdom rank for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent?
- United Kingdom ranks 21st out of 78 countries with data for 2021.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 73.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release