Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary male in Canada
Canada: Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary male was 96.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
96.6%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
59th
of 135 countries
All-time high
96.6%
in 2024
All-time low
79.3%
in 1970
Years of data
37
1970–2024
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Canada, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Canada stood at 96.6%. That is the highest value across all 37 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Canada peaked at 96.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 79.3%, in 1970.
Canada ranks 59th of 135 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 37 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary male in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 79.3% | — |
| 1976 | 79.4% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 83.8% | +5.5% |
| 1986 | 93.9% | +12.0% |
| 1991 | 95.2% | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 85.7% | -9.9% |
| 1994 | 85.5% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 86.2% | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 86.6% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 87.6% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 88.1% | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 88.4% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 89.0% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 89.8% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 90.1% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 90.6% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 91.0% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 91.4% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 91.7% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 92.1% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 92.6% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 92.9% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 93.1% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 93.5% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 94.0% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 94.1% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 94.2% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 94.7% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 94.7% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 95.0% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 95.4% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 95.4% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 95.8% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 96.3% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 96.2% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 96.5% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 96.6% | +0.1% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 96.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.3%, 97% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 79.3% | 79.3% | 79.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 88.8% | 83.8% | 93.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 87.9% | 85.5% | 95.2% | 8 |
| 2000s | 91.1% | 89.0% | 92.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 94.4% | 93.1% | 95.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.3% | 95.8% | 96.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 56 Portugal 97.0% compare
- 57 Grenada 97.0% compare
- 58 United Arab Emirates 97.0% compare
- 60 Venezuela 96.5% compare
- 61 Bosnia and Herzegovina 96.3% compare
- 62 North Macedonia 96.3% compare
More education data for Canada
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 95.11 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 95.01 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 133,275 (1996)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2011)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 291,075 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 273,465 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.70 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.43 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.83 % change on previous year (2023)
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 96.6% 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 96.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.3% in 1970.
- How does Canada rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Canada ranks 59th 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 2.5%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release