Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Canada
Canada: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education was 49.3% in 2021. β² Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Canada, 1986β2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Canada recorded 49.3% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2021.
The figure is up 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Canada peaked at 59.8% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 19.3%, in 1986.
That places Canada 8th out of 129 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 19.3% | 19.3% | 19.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 40.2% | 21.5% | 47.2% | 4 |
| 2000s | 48.5% | 40.3% | 56.2% | 6 |
| 2010s | 52.4% | 47.7% | 59.8% | 3 |
| 2020s | 49.3% | 49.3% | 49.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 5 Ireland 51.2% compare
- 6 United States 49.8% compare
- 7 Korea, Republic of 49.6% compare
- 9 United Kingdom 48.7% compare
- 10 Ukraine 47.8% compare
- 11 Australia 47.5% 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 49.3% 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 59.8% in 2014.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.3% in 1986.
- How does Canada rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Canada ranks 8th out of 129 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 3.4%. 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, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release