Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 8.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland stood at 8.0%. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.6% on the previous year and down 36.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 13.6% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 8.0%, in 2023.
That places United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 21st out of 123 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10.3% | — |
| 2001 | 11.1% | +7.3% |
| 2002 | 10.5% | -4.9% |
| 2003 | 10.4% | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 8.4% | -19.6% |
| 2005 | 8.2% | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 8.1% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 8.4% | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 8.4% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 8.7% | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 8.7% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 8.8% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 8.8% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 12.6% | +42.6% |
| 2014 | 13.3% | +5.4% |
| 2015 | 13.4% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 13.6% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 13.4% | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 9.2% | -31.2% |
| 2021 | 8.7% | -5.4% |
| 2023 | 8.0% | -8.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.2% | 8.1% | 11.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.6% | 8.7% | 13.6% | 8 |
| 2020s | 8.6% | 8.0% | 9.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- 18 Uzbekistan 8.0% compare
- 19 Italy 8.0% compare
- 20 Bangladesh 8.0% compare
- 22 Luxembourg 7.9% compare
- 23 Ireland 7.8% compare
- 24 Saudi Arabia 7.8% compare
More education data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 388,714 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2012)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 830,495 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 790,556 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.071 units per person (2023)
All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 8.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 13.6% in 2016.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.0% in 2023.
- How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 21st out of 123 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release