Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education was 28.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal stood at 28.1%. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.8% on the previous year and up 41.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal peaked at 28.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1970.
That places Portugal 49th out of 128 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.9% | — |
| 1981 | 2.2% | +135.0% |
| 1991 | 7.2% | +224.1% |
| 1992 | 9.2% | +27.6% |
| 1993 | 9.0% | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 9.5% | +5.2% |
| 1995 | 10.0% | +5.5% |
| 1996 | 9.6% | -4.1% |
| 1997 | 9.5% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 7.5% | -21.6% |
| 1999 | 7.6% | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 7.9% | +4.2% |
| 2001 | 8.4% | +6.7% |
| 2002 | 8.9% | +6.0% |
| 2003 | 10.1% | +13.9% |
| 2004 | 11.4% | +12.7% |
| 2005 | 11.6% | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 12.3% | +5.6% |
| 2007 | 12.7% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 13.2% | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 13.5% | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 14.4% | +6.9% |
| 2011 | 15.6% | +8.1% |
| 2012 | 16.9% | +7.9% |
| 2013 | 18.1% | +7.1% |
| 2014 | 19.9% | +10.2% |
| 2015 | 20.6% | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 21.5% | +4.2% |
| 2017 | 21.9% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 21.5% | -2.1% |
| 2019 | 23.3% | +8.4% |
| 2020 | 25.4% | +9.4% |
| 2021 | 23.3% | -8.5% |
| 2022 | 26.3% | +12.9% |
| 2023 | 26.3% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 28.1% | +6.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1 |
| 1980s | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 8.8% | 7.2% | 10.0% | 9 |
| 2000s | 11.0% | 7.9% | 13.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.4% | 14.4% | 23.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.9% | 23.3% | 28.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- 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)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 110.99 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 111.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal was 28.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 28.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1970.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Portugal ranks 49th out of 128 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.2%. 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 short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release