Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal
Portugal: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 48.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Portugal recorded 48.6% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.8% on the previous year and up 42.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal peaked at 48.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 1970.
Portugal ranks 84th of 142 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.6% | — |
| 1981 | 3.5% | +111.6% |
| 1991 | 7.7% | +120.8% |
| 1993 | 16.8% | +118.7% |
| 1994 | 17.6% | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 18.4% | +4.3% |
| 1996 | 18.2% | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 18.0% | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 14.5% | -19.3% |
| 1999 | 15.3% | +4.9% |
| 2000 | 15.8% | +3.4% |
| 2001 | 16.4% | +4.1% |
| 2002 | 16.7% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 18.4% | +10.2% |
| 2004 | 20.3% | +10.2% |
| 2005 | 21.3% | +4.9% |
| 2006 | 22.4% | +5.0% |
| 2007 | 22.3% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 22.8% | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 24.1% | +5.5% |
| 2010 | 25.6% | +6.4% |
| 2011 | 27.9% | +8.9% |
| 2012 | 30.0% | +7.7% |
| 2013 | 31.9% | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 34.2% | +7.3% |
| 2015 | 35.4% | +3.6% |
| 2016 | 36.8% | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 37.6% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 37.1% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 40.7% | +9.7% |
| 2020 | 43.5% | +6.8% |
| 2021 | 42.3% | -2.7% |
| 2022 | 45.7% | +8.0% |
| 2023 | 46.3% | +1.5% |
| 2024 | 48.6% | +4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1 |
| 1980s | 3.5% | 3.5% | 3.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 15.8% | 7.7% | 18.4% | 8 |
| 2000s | 20.1% | 15.8% | 24.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.7% | 25.6% | 40.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.3% | 42.3% | 48.6% | 5 |
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 48.6% in 2024, 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 48.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 1970.
- How does Portugal rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Portugal ranks 84th out of 142 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 42.0%. 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, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release