Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in France
France: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both was 78.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in France, 1993–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in France is 78.0%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 17.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in France peaked at 78.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 47.9%, in 1993.
That places France 42nd out of 142 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in France, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 47.9% | — |
| 1994 | 49.2% | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 50.3% | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 50.4% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 51.4% | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 51.0% | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 51.9% | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 53.1% | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 54.0% | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 54.9% | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 56.0% | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 55.7% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 56.6% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 54.1% | -4.4% |
| 2007 | 59.4% | +9.8% |
| 2008 | 60.3% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 60.4% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 61.9% | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 62.8% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 63.7% | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 66.3% | +4.1% |
| 2014 | 68.5% | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 69.4% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 69.7% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 70.1% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 71.2% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 72.2% | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 73.4% | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 76.8% | +4.6% |
| 2022 | 77.6% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 78.0% | +0.5% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 78.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 79.5%, 98% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- France's 78.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 81.4%, 96% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 50.3% | 47.9% | 51.9% | 7 |
| 2000s | 56.5% | 53.1% | 60.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 67.6% | 61.9% | 72.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 76.4% | 73.4% | 78.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near France
More education data for France
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.97 (2016)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.8 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 457,956 (2019)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 43,533 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.19 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.14 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.27 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.13 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.27 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in France?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in France was 78.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 78.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.9% in 1993.
- How does France rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- France ranks 42nd out of 142 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release