Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal

Portugal: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 17.4% in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
17.4%
Change on year
down 4.4%
World rank
18th
of 98 countries
All-time high
20.8%
in 2010
All-time low
13.3%
in 2000
Years of data
17
2000–2017

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal, 2000–2017

051015202000200820172000: 13.3 %2002: 15.6 %2003: 15.5 %2004: 15.5 %2005: 17.7 %2006: 20.4 %2007: 18.9 %2008: 19.3 %2009: 20.3 %2010: 20.8 %2011: 20.4 %2012: 17.5 %2013: 17.2 %2014: 17.5 %2015: 18.6 %2016: 18.2 %2017: 17.4 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Portugal recorded 17.4% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2017.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.4% on the previous year and down 7.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal peaked at 20.8% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 13.3%, in 2000.

That places Portugal 18th out of 98 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Health and Welfare programmes, both sexes (%) in Portugal, 2000 to 2017.
Year % Change
2000 13.3%
2002 15.6% +16.9%
2003 15.5% -0.6%
2004 15.5% +0.2%
2005 17.7% +13.8%
2006 20.4% +15.4%
2007 18.9% -7.4%
2008 19.3% +2.1%
2009 20.3% +5.3%
2010 20.8% +2.7%
2011 20.4% -2.0%
2012 17.5% -14.2%
2013 17.2% -1.8%
2014 17.5% +1.8%
2015 18.6% +6.1%
2016 18.2% -2.0%
2017 17.4% -4.4%

Portugal compared with similar countries

  • Portugal's 17.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 13.8%, 1.3× the median. (56 countries reporting)
  • Portugal's 17.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 12.8%, 1.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 17.4% 13.3% 20.4% 9
2010s 18.5% 17.2% 20.8% 8

Countries ranked near Portugal

  1. 15 Argentina 17.8% compare
  2. 16 Latvia 17.5% compare
  3. 17 Australia 17.5% compare
  4. 19 Eritrea 17.4% compare
  5. 20 Ireland 17.1% compare
  6. 21 Netherlands 17.1% compare

See the full ranking of 98 places →

More education data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

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 17.4% in 2017, 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 20.8% in 2010.
What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Portugal?
The lowest recorded value was 13.3% in 2000.
How does Portugal rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
Portugal ranks 18th out of 98 countries with data for 2017.
Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Portugal?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.8%. 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 Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Health and Welfare programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-health-and-welfare/portugal/

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About this data

Indicator
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Health and Welfare programmes, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
98 places, 1,158 data points, 1998–2020
Last refreshed

Share of all tertiary graduates who completed health and welfare programmes in the reference year.