Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural was 9.7% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal, 1992–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal is 9.7%, measured in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 48.8% on the previous year and up 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Portugal peaked at 15.2% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 2.6%, in 1995.
That places Portugal 50th out of 95 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 2.9% | — |
| 1993 | 3.0% | +4.2% |
| 1994 | 2.7% | -10.7% |
| 1995 | 2.6% | -4.5% |
| 1996 | 3.2% | +26.4% |
| 1997 | 2.9% | -9.9% |
| 1998 | 3.3% | +13.4% |
| 1999 | 3.8% | +15.2% |
| 2000 | 4.2% | +8.8% |
| 2001 | 3.9% | -7.3% |
| 2002 | 3.8% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 4.6% | +20.9% |
| 2004 | 5.2% | +13.2% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 5.3% | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 5.4% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 5.9% | +10.0% |
| 2009 | 6.2% | +5.4% |
| 2010 | 6.2% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 8.3% | +32.7% |
| 2012 | 8.6% | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 8.8% | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 9.9% | +12.0% |
| 2015 | 10.9% | +11.1% |
| 2016 | 15.2% | +39.0% |
| 2017 | 6.0% | -60.6% |
| 2018 | 6.1% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 5.9% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 6.5% | +9.8% |
| 2021 | 9.7% | +48.8% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 9.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 22.5%, 43% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 9.7% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 21.9%, 44% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural in Portugal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | -60.6% | 15.2% | 6.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.1% | 2.6% | 3.8% | 8 |
| 2000s | 5.0% | 3.8% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.6% | 5.9% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.1% | 6.5% | 9.7% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.73 (2019)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.49 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 82,664 (2018)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 11,380 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 136,282 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 128,743 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 741,752 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 598,661 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (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 9.7% in 2021, 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 15.2% in 2016.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.6% in 1995.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Portugal ranks 50th out of 95 countries with data for 2021.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.7%. 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, rural, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release