Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 80.5% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United Kingdom, 2009–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 80.5% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2021.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and down 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United Kingdom peaked at 87.7% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 74.0%, in 2013.
That places United Kingdom 35th out of 142 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 84.7% | — |
| 2010 | 86.4% | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 86.1% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 87.7% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 74.0% | -15.7% |
| 2014 | 74.7% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 77.1% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 79.9% | +3.6% |
| 2021 | 80.5% | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 84.7% | 84.7% | 84.7% | 1 |
| 2010s | 81.0% | 74.0% | 87.7% | 6 |
| 2020s | 80.2% | 79.9% | 80.5% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 281,128 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 102.17 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 102.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United Kingdom?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United Kingdom was 80.5% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 87.7% in 2012.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 74.0% in 2013.
- How does United Kingdom rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- United Kingdom ranks 35th out of 142 countries with data for 2021.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release