Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 28.4% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal, 1992–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal stood at 28.4%.
The figure is up 21.6% on the previous year and up 40.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal peaked at 34.0% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 6.6%, in 1995.
That places Portugal 69th out of 111 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 6.7% | — |
| 1993 | 7.3% | +9.4% |
| 1994 | 7.2% | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 6.6% | -7.8% |
| 1996 | 7.6% | +15.5% |
| 1997 | 7.7% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 9.8% | +26.8% |
| 1999 | 10.2% | +4.7% |
| 2000 | 10.7% | +4.2% |
| 2001 | 11.0% | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 11.4% | +4.1% |
| 2003 | 12.1% | +5.4% |
| 2004 | 13.3% | +10.1% |
| 2005 | 13.9% | +4.5% |
| 2006 | 14.6% | +4.9% |
| 2007 | 14.0% | -4.1% |
| 2008 | 15.1% | +8.2% |
| 2009 | 16.5% | +8.9% |
| 2010 | 17.5% | +6.4% |
| 2011 | 20.1% | +15.0% |
| 2012 | 21.5% | +6.9% |
| 2013 | 23.3% | +8.3% |
| 2014 | 25.4% | +9.1% |
| 2015 | 27.3% | +7.2% |
| 2016 | 34.0% | +24.7% |
| 2017 | 17.9% | -47.3% |
| 2018 | 19.2% | +7.4% |
| 2019 | 20.1% | +4.3% |
| 2020 | 23.3% | +16.4% |
| 2021 | 28.4% | +21.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.9% | 6.6% | 10.2% | 8 |
| 2000s | 13.2% | 10.7% | 16.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.6% | 17.5% | 34.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.9% | 23.3% | 28.4% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 52,131 (2023)
- 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 62.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 12.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 110.99 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 111.0% (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 28.4% in 2021, 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 34.0% in 2016.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.6% in 1995.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Portugal ranks 69th out of 111 countries with data for 2021.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 40.9%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release