Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 94.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal stood at 94.3%. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Portugal peaked at 94.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 11.5%, in 1981.
That places Portugal 63rd 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 primary education or higher in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 29.2% | — |
| 1981 | 11.5% | -60.6% |
| 1991 | 20.1% | +75.2% |
| 1998 | 71.0% | +252.6% |
| 1999 | 71.3% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 72.7% | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 73.5% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 75.0% | +2.0% |
| 2003 | 76.4% | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 78.4% | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 79.3% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 80.5% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 81.3% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 82.1% | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 83.6% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 84.5% | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 83.9% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 84.7% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 85.7% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 86.7% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 87.5% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 88.2% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 89.0% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 88.6% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 90.3% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 91.6% | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 92.0% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 93.3% | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 93.6% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 94.3% | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 29.2% | 29.2% | 29.2% | 1 |
| 1980s | 11.5% | 11.5% | 11.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 54.2% | 20.1% | 71.3% | 3 |
| 2000s | 78.3% | 72.7% | 83.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 86.9% | 83.9% | 90.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 92.9% | 91.6% | 94.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- 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)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 62.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 12.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (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 94.3% in 2024, 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 94.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.5% in 1981.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Portugal ranks 63rd out of 135 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.8%. 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, female (%). 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