Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both was 32.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal, 1992–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Portugal recorded 32.1% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 25.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal peaked at 35.5% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 6.8%, in 1992.
That places Portugal 62nd out of 113 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 6.8% | — |
| 1993 | 7.2% | +6.0% |
| 1994 | 7.5% | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 7.3% | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 7.7% | +5.3% |
| 1997 | 8.2% | +5.9% |
| 1998 | 10.3% | +26.0% |
| 1999 | 10.6% | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 11.2% | +5.1% |
| 2001 | 11.5% | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 12.2% | +5.9% |
| 2003 | 13.1% | +7.0% |
| 2004 | 14.3% | +9.4% |
| 2005 | 15.0% | +5.2% |
| 2006 | 15.8% | +5.4% |
| 2007 | 15.4% | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 16.6% | +7.5% |
| 2009 | 18.2% | +9.7% |
| 2010 | 19.8% | +9.0% |
| 2011 | 22.1% | +11.5% |
| 2012 | 23.8% | +8.0% |
| 2013 | 25.7% | +7.7% |
| 2014 | 28.0% | +9.0% |
| 2015 | 29.3% | +4.6% |
| 2016 | 35.5% | +21.3% |
| 2017 | 20.9% | -41.1% |
| 2018 | 21.9% | +4.9% |
| 2019 | 22.3% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 25.2% | +12.8% |
| 2021 | 31.8% | +26.3% |
| 2022 | 31.8% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 32.1% | +1.1% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 32.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 73.5%, 44% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 32.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 77.6%, 41% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Portugal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | -41.1% | 35.5% | 20.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.2% | 6.8% | 10.6% | 8 |
| 2000s | 14.3% | 11.2% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.9% | 19.8% | 35.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.2% | 25.2% | 32.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.73 (2019)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.49 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 82,664 (2018)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 11,380 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 136,282 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 128,743 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 741,752 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 598,661 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (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 32.1% in 2023, 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 35.5% in 2016.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.8% in 1992.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Portugal ranks 62nd out of 113 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.2%. 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, rural, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release