Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Canada
Canada: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 96.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Canada, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Canada is 96.3%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 37 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Canada peaked at 96.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 79.9%, in 1976.
That places Canada 58th 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 37 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 80.5% | 79.9% | 81.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 88.7% | 83.7% | 93.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 87.0% | 84.7% | 94.9% | 8 |
| 2000s | 90.0% | 87.9% | 92.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 93.8% | 92.5% | 94.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 95.8% | 95.2% | 96.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More education data for Canada
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 141,045 (2000)
- 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 64.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 95.0% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0046 units per person (2000)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Canada?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Canada was 96.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 96.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.9% in 1976.
- How does Canada rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Canada ranks 58th out of 135 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 37 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release