Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female in Norway
Norway: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female was 82.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Norway, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Norway is 82.9%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 3.8% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Norway peaked at 83.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 22.4%, in 1970.
That places Norway 25th out of 141 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female in Norway, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 22.4% | — |
| 1975 | 26.6% | +18.8% |
| 1980 | 32.7% | +22.8% |
| 1990 | 62.5% | +91.5% |
| 1997 | 76.5% | +22.3% |
| 1998 | 78.2% | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 79.5% | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 80.4% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 81.0% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 68.0% | -16.0% |
| 2005 | 68.4% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 71.2% | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 71.9% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 73.6% | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 73.4% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 74.1% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 74.8% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 80.4% | +7.6% |
| 2013 | 81.3% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 76.3% | -6.1% |
| 2015 | 76.9% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 77.4% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 78.0% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 82.2% | +5.4% |
| 2019 | 78.8% | -4.2% |
| 2020 | 83.0% | +5.4% |
| 2022 | 79.9% | -3.8% |
| 2023 | 82.9% | +3.8% |
Norway compared with similar countries
- Norway's 82.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 78.7%, 1.1× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Norway's 82.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 79.0%, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female in Norway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +91.5% | 32.7% | 62.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 24.5% | 22.4% | 26.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 32.7% | 32.7% | 32.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 74.2% | 62.5% | 79.5% | 4 |
| 2000s | 73.5% | 68.0% | 81.0% | 8 |
| 2010s | 78.0% | 74.1% | 82.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.9% | 79.9% | 83.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Norway
- 22 Puerto Rico 83.7% compare
- 23 Finland 83.6% compare
- 24 Seychelles 83.0% compare
- 26 Switzerland 81.9% compare
- 27 Hungary 81.2% compare
- 28 United Kingdom 81.1% compare
More education data for Norway
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.62 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.62 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 59,473 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (1993)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 85,282 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 80,636 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 469,508 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 434,422 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.7841 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Norway?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Norway was 82.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 83.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.4% in 1970.
- How does Norway rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Norway ranks 25th out of 141 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Norway 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release