Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female in Pakistan
Pakistan: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female was 19.5% in 2018. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Pakistan, 1972–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Pakistan recorded 19.5% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2018.
The figure is down 9.0% on the previous year and up 35.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Pakistan peaked at 21.4% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 2.6%, in 1972.
Pakistan ranks 115th of 141 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female in Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 2.6% | — |
| 2005 | 11.3% | +336.2% |
| 2006 | 14.6% | +28.6% |
| 2007 | 12.4% | -14.8% |
| 2008 | 14.4% | +16.1% |
| 2009 | 14.6% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 14.9% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 14.2% | -4.5% |
| 2012 | 18.7% | +31.3% |
| 2013 | 19.3% | +3.5% |
| 2014 | 21.0% | +8.5% |
| 2015 | 18.5% | -12.0% |
| 2016 | 18.3% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 21.4% | +17.1% |
| 2018 | 19.5% | -9.0% |
Pakistan compared with similar countries
- Pakistan's 19.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 20.9%, 93% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Pakistan's 19.5% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 49.8%, 39% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female in Pakistan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +336.2% | 2.6% | 11.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 13.5% | 11.3% | 14.6% | 5 |
| 2010s | 18.4% | 14.2% | 21.4% | 9 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
More education data for Pakistan
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 81.08 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 82.07 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 2.04 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 440,233 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 5.05 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.90 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 19.70 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.38 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.1 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Pakistan?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Pakistan was 19.5% in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 21.4% in 2017.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.6% in 1972.
- How does Pakistan rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Pakistan ranks 115th out of 141 countries with data for 2018.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Pakistan 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 — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release