Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper urban both in Norway
Norway: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper urban both was 83.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Norway, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Norway stood at 83.7%. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.8% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Norway peaked at 83.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 35.0%, in 1970.
That places Norway 25th out of 108 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper urban both in Norway, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 35.0% | — |
| 1990 | 66.0% | +88.9% |
| 2004 | 71.9% | +8.8% |
| 2005 | 73.1% | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 75.0% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 75.4% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 76.5% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 76.4% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 76.8% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 77.3% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 82.8% | +7.0% |
| 2013 | 83.2% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 78.2% | -6.0% |
| 2015 | 78.6% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 78.9% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 79.2% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 83.6% | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 79.6% | -4.8% |
| 2021 | 82.6% | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 81.5% | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 83.7% | +2.8% |
Norway compared with similar countries
- Norway's 83.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 81.8%, 1.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Norway's 83.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 83.5%, 1.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper urban both 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 | +88.9% | 35.0% | 66.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 35.0% | 35.0% | 35.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 66.0% | 66.0% | 66.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 74.7% | 71.9% | 76.5% | 6 |
| 2010s | 79.8% | 76.8% | 83.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 82.6% | 81.5% | 83.7% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Norway
- 22 Tajikistan 84.7% compare
- 23 South Korea 84.2% compare
- 24 Switzerland 83.9% compare
- 26 Finland 83.5% compare
- 27 Bosnia and Herzegovina 83.3% compare
- 28 Australia 83.3% 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 83.7% 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 83.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.0% in 1970.
- How does Norway rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Norway ranks 25th out of 108 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 0.7%. 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, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release