Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Canada
Canada: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 79.5% in 2021. β² Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Canada, 1986β2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Canada stood at 79.5%. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Canada peaked at 79.5% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 35.2%, in 1986.
That places Canada 21st out of 111 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 35.2% | 35.2% | 35.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 40.0% | 40.0% | 40.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 65.7% | 61.1% | 70.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 76.0% | 74.9% | 77.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 79.5% | 79.5% | 79.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More education data for Canada
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 141,045 (2000)
- 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 64.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 95.0% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0046 units per person (2000)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Canada?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Canada was 79.5% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 79.5% in 2021.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.2% in 1986.
- How does Canada rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Canada ranks 21st out of 111 countries with data for 2021.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release