Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female in Canada
Canada: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female was 52.9% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Canada, 1986–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Canada stood at 52.9%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 17.2% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Canada peaked at 64.0% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 17.0%, in 1986.
That places Canada 5th out of 128 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 17.0% | — |
| 1991 | 19.6% | +15.7% |
| 1997 | 43.4% | +120.9% |
| 1998 | 44.2% | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 45.2% | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 45.7% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 47.1% | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 48.4% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 49.5% | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 50.5% | +2.2% |
| 2005 | 52.2% | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 45.8% | -12.2% |
| 2008 | 55.1% | +20.3% |
| 2009 | 55.5% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 57.0% | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 50.6% | -11.1% |
| 2013 | 59.7% | +17.9% |
| 2014 | 59.9% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 61.0% | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 53.8% | -11.9% |
| 2018 | 64.0% | +18.9% |
| 2021 | 52.9% | -17.2% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 52.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 38.7%, 1.4× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female in Canada changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +120.9% | 19.6% | 43.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 17.0% | 17.0% | 17.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 38.1% | 19.6% | 45.2% | 4 |
| 2000s | 50.0% | 45.7% | 55.5% | 9 |
| 2010s | 58.0% | 50.6% | 64.0% | 7 |
| 2020s | 52.9% | 52.9% | 52.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 2 United Arab Emirates 59.7% compare
- 3 Uzbekistan 57.9% compare
- 4 Ireland 54.3% compare
- 6 United States 52.0% compare
- 7 Ukraine 51.7% compare
- 8 Sweden 51.2% 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 short-cycle tertiary education in Canada?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Canada was 52.9% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 64.0% in 2018.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.0% in 1986.
- How does Canada rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Canada ranks 5th out of 128 countries with data for 2021.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. 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 short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release