Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Canada
Canada: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education was 52.9% in 2021. β² Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Canada, 1986β2021
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.
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, Republic of 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
- 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 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 Β· JSON β 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release