Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iran

Iran: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 8.2% in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
8.2%
Change on year
up 19.8%
World rank
84th
of 126 countries
All-time high
9.3%
in 2006
All-time low
4.4%
in 2016
Years of data
14
2004–2021

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iran, 2004–2021

02468102004201220212004: 5.7 %2005: 6.7 %2006: 9.3 %2007: 6.7 %2009: 5.9 %2011: 5.6 %2012: 5.5 %2015: 5.1 %2016: 4.4 %2017: 7 %2018: 5.6 %2019: 4.7 %2020: 6.9 %2021: 8.2 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Iran recorded 8.2% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2021.

That represents a change of up 19.8% on the previous year and up 46.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iran peaked at 9.3% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 4.4%, in 2016.

Iran ranks 84th of 126 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iran, year by year

Annual values for Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%) in Iran, 2004 to 2021.
Year % Change
2004 5.7%
2005 6.7% +17.1%
2006 9.3% +38.9%
2007 6.7% -28.0%
2009 5.9% -11.5%
2011 5.6% -5.4%
2012 5.5% -1.6%
2015 5.1% -8.5%
2016 4.4% -13.0%
2017 7.0% +59.9%
2018 5.6% -20.1%
2019 4.7% -16.9%
2020 6.9% +46.5%
2021 8.2% +19.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.9% 5.7% 9.3% 5
2010s 5.4% 4.4% 7.0% 7
2020s 7.5% 6.9% 8.2% 2

Countries ranked near Iran

  1. 81 Colombia 8.6% compare
  2. 82 Thailand 8.5% compare
  3. 83 Ireland 8.3% compare
  4. 85 Bosnia and Herzegovina 8.2% compare
  5. 86 Netherlands 8.1% compare
  6. 87 Albania 8.1% compare

See the full ranking of 126 places →

More education data for Iran

All data for Iran →

Frequently asked questions

What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iran?
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iran was 8.2% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Iran?
The highest recorded value was 9.3% in 2006.
What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Iran?
The lowest recorded value was 4.4% in 2016.
How does Iran rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
Iran ranks 84th out of 126 countries with data for 2021.
Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Iran?
Over the last ten years it is up 46.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Iran data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iran. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-education-programmes-both-2/iran-islamic-rep/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-education-programmes-both-2/iran-islamic-rep/">Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iran</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
126 places, 1,867 data points, 1998–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release