Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, immigrant background, female (%) by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
30
Highest
64.6%
Ireland
Lowest
14.2%
Costa Rica
Median
34.4%
Years covered
31
1994β2024
Data points
359
What the numbers show
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, immigrant background, female (%) is currently reported for 30 countries. The highest value is 64.6% in Ireland; the lowest is 14.2% in Costa Rica.
The median across all reporting countries is 34.4%, and the mean is 36.3%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 5.
Over the past decade 26 countries rose and 1 fell. The largest increase was in Poland (up 166.6%), and the largest decrease in Armenia, Republic of (down 8.5%).
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireland | 64.6% | 2023 | up 19.4% | rising |
| 2 | Norway | 54.9% | 2023 | up 10.2% | rising |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 53.9% | 2023 | up 22.8% | rising |
| 4 | Armenia, Republic of | 53.0% | 2023 | down 8.5% | flat |
| 5 | Iceland | 50.2% | 2023 | up 38.8% | rising |
| 6 | Sweden | 50.1% | 2023 | up 37.0% | rising |
| 7 | Cyprus | 46.2% | 2023 | up 20.7% | rising |
| 8 | United States | 45.8% | 2024 | up 18.2% | rising |
| 9 | Denmark | 44.9% | 2023 | β | rising |
| 10 | Finland | 40.2% | 2023 | up 13.3% | rising |
| 11 | Poland | 40.0% | 2022 | up 166.6% | rising |
| 12 | Netherlands | 39.4% | 2023 | up 62.6% | rising |
| 13 | Portugal | 39.2% | 2024 | up 53.6% | rising |
| 14 | Hungary | 39.1% | 2023 | up 57.0% | rising |
| 15 | Belgium | 34.9% | 2023 | up 29.7% | rising |
| 16 | Malta | 34.0% | 2017 | up 75.8% | rising |
| 17 | Austria | 31.9% | 2021 | up 11.2% | rising |
| 18 | France | 31.6% | 2020 | up 25.6% | rising |
| 19 | Czechia | 31.5% | 2021 | up 41.4% | volatile |
| 20 | Lithuania | 30.0% | 2013 | up 41.3% | rising |
| 21 | Spain | 30.0% | 2023 | up 12.1% | rising |
| 22 | Montenegro | 29.5% | 2018 | β | flat |
| 23 | Germany | 28.0% | 2023 | up 27.7% | rising |
| 24 | Serbia, Republic of | 27.2% | 2024 | up 33.0% | rising |
| 25 | Brunei Darussalam | 23.1% | 2023 | up 61.8% | rising |
| 26 | Slovenia | 22.5% | 2022 | up 68.5% | rising |
| 27 | Croatia | 22.0% | 2023 | up 53.1% | rising |
| 28 | Greece | 21.2% | 2024 | up 8.4% | rising |
| 29 | Italy | 16.9% | 2023 | up 11.7% | rising |
| 30 | Costa Rica | 14.2% | 2007 | β | flat |
About this data
February 2026 Data Release