Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Pakistan
Pakistan: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both was 26.1% in 2018. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Pakistan, 1972–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Pakistan recorded 26.1% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2018.
The figure is down 4.4% on the previous year and up 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Pakistan peaked at 27.7% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 7.0%, in 1972.
That places Pakistan 114th out of 142 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 7.0% | — |
| 2005 | 19.4% | +176.4% |
| 2006 | 23.3% | +20.6% |
| 2007 | 20.4% | -12.7% |
| 2008 | 23.0% | +12.9% |
| 2009 | 23.3% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 23.9% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 24.3% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 25.6% | +5.7% |
| 2013 | 26.1% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 27.7% | +6.3% |
| 2015 | 25.5% | -8.0% |
| 2016 | 24.6% | -3.4% |
| 2017 | 27.3% | +10.7% |
| 2018 | 26.1% | -4.4% |
Pakistan compared with similar countries
- Pakistan's 26.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 26.1%, 1.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Pakistan's 26.1% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 50.8%, 51% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Pakistan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +176.4% | 7.0% | 19.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.0% | 7.0% | 7.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 21.9% | 19.4% | 23.3% | 5 |
| 2010s | 25.7% | 23.9% | 27.7% | 9 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
More education data for Pakistan
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 81.08 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 82.07 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 2.04 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 440,233 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 5.05 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.90 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 19.70 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.38 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.1 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Pakistan?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Pakistan was 26.1% in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 27.7% in 2014.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.0% in 1972.
- How does Pakistan rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Pakistan ranks 114th out of 142 countries with data for 2018.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Pakistan 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 — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release