Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 46.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Portugal recorded 46.9% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is up 5.3% on the previous year and up 45.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal peaked at 46.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.5%, in 1970.
Portugal ranks 86th of 140 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.5% | — |
| 1981 | 4.9% | +93.6% |
| 1991 | 8.2% | +66.5% |
| 1993 | 17.7% | +115.7% |
| 1994 | 18.3% | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 18.9% | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 18.9% | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 19.0% | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 14.5% | -23.7% |
| 1999 | 15.3% | +6.0% |
| 2000 | 15.8% | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 16.3% | +3.3% |
| 2002 | 16.2% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 17.7% | +9.3% |
| 2004 | 19.7% | +11.3% |
| 2005 | 20.4% | +3.8% |
| 2006 | 21.5% | +5.1% |
| 2007 | 21.2% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 21.7% | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 23.0% | +5.7% |
| 2010 | 24.0% | +4.6% |
| 2011 | 26.5% | +10.3% |
| 2012 | 28.4% | +7.4% |
| 2013 | 30.0% | +5.5% |
| 2014 | 32.2% | +7.2% |
| 2015 | 33.9% | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 35.3% | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 35.6% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 34.7% | -2.4% |
| 2019 | 38.9% | +12.0% |
| 2020 | 42.3% | +8.9% |
| 2021 | 40.7% | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 44.1% | +8.4% |
| 2023 | 44.6% | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 46.9% | +5.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 1 |
| 1990s | 16.3% | 8.2% | 19.0% | 8 |
| 2000s | 19.3% | 15.8% | 23.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.9% | 24.0% | 38.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.7% | 40.7% | 46.9% | 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 upper secondary education or in Portugal?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal was 46.9% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 46.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.5% in 1970.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Portugal ranks 86th out of 140 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 45.8%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release