Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal
Portugal: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 8.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal stood at 8.5%.
That represents a change of down 4.9% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal peaked at 11.7% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 8.1%, in 2021.
That places Portugal 52nd out of 122 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.5% | — |
| 2002 | 10.1% | +18.8% |
| 2003 | 9.3% | -7.6% |
| 2004 | 9.1% | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 10.2% | +12.0% |
| 2006 | 11.7% | +14.7% |
| 2007 | 9.6% | -18.0% |
| 2008 | 10.0% | +3.7% |
| 2009 | 10.5% | +5.1% |
| 2010 | 11.4% | +8.1% |
| 2011 | 10.9% | -4.1% |
| 2012 | 9.3% | -14.6% |
| 2013 | 9.0% | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 9.1% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 9.9% | +9.1% |
| 2016 | 9.9% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 9.2% | -7.9% |
| 2019 | 8.7% | -4.7% |
| 2020 | 8.7% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 8.1% | -6.7% |
| 2022 | 9.0% | +10.1% |
| 2023 | 8.5% | -4.9% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 8.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.2%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 8.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 8.5%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.9% | 8.5% | 11.7% | 9 |
| 2010s | 9.7% | 8.7% | 11.4% | 9 |
| 2020s | 8.6% | 8.1% | 9.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 82,664 (2018)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 11,380 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 136,282 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 128,743 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 741,752 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 598,661 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0566 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal was 8.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 11.7% in 2006.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.1% in 2021.
- How does Portugal rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Portugal ranks 52nd out of 122 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Portugal data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Health and Welfare programmes, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release