Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Italy
Italy: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both was 55.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Italy, 1981–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Italy stood at 55.3%. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.7% on the previous year and up 15.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Italy peaked at 55.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 15.3%, in 1981.
That places Italy 75th 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 33 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Italy, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 15.3% | — |
| 1992 | 27.7% | +81.1% |
| 1993 | 27.6% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 29.4% | +6.8% |
| 1995 | 30.7% | +4.1% |
| 1996 | 31.8% | +3.8% |
| 1997 | 33.3% | +4.7% |
| 1998 | 36.3% | +9.0% |
| 1999 | 37.9% | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 39.4% | +4.0% |
| 2001 | 35.4% | -10.0% |
| 2002 | 36.6% | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 38.8% | +6.0% |
| 2004 | 39.6% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 40.5% | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 41.4% | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 43.1% | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 44.0% | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 44.7% | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 45.5% | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 46.2% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 47.3% | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 48.0% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 48.6% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 49.2% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 50.1% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 51.0% | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 52.0% | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 52.6% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 52.5% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 52.4% | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 52.8% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 55.3% | +4.7% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 55.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 79.5%, 70% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Italy's 55.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 81.4%, 68% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Italy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | +81.1% | 15.3% | 27.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 15.3% | 15.3% | 15.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 31.8% | 27.6% | 37.9% | 8 |
| 2000s | 40.4% | 35.4% | 44.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.0% | 45.5% | 52.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 53.2% | 52.4% | 55.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More education data for Italy
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 97.84 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 97.94 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 423,797 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 6,592 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 667,641 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 620,157 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.61 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.63 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.167 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Italy?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Italy was 55.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 55.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.3% in 1981.
- How does Italy rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Italy ranks 75th out of 142 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Italy 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.
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CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release