Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 88.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Portugal recorded 88.4% for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in 2023.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal peaked at 88.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 65.3%, in 1998.
Portugal ranks 53rd of 103 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 65.3% | — |
| 1999 | 65.9% | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 67.0% | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 68.1% | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 69.9% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 71.1% | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 73.6% | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 74.6% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 75.6% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 76.2% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 78.0% | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 80.0% | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 81.1% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 80.0% | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 80.8% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 82.1% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 83.4% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 84.8% | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 87.6% | +3.3% |
| 2017 | 78.7% | -10.1% |
| 2018 | 80.0% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 81.3% | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 83.8% | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 87.7% | +4.7% |
| 2022 | 88.5% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 88.4% | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 65.6% | 65.3% | 65.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 73.4% | 67.0% | 80.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 82.0% | 78.7% | 87.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 87.1% | 83.8% | 88.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal was 88.4% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 88.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.3% in 1998.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Portugal ranks 53rd out of 103 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.6%. 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 primary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release