Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal
Portugal: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 5.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
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 5.8%.
That represents a change of down 8.4% on the previous year and up 19.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal peaked at 6.5% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2000.
That places Portugal 30th out of 124 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.9% | — |
| 2002 | 3.6% | +26.4% |
| 2003 | 3.8% | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 4.5% | +18.6% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 4.5% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 4.0% | -10.2% |
| 2008 | 3.8% | -5.3% |
| 2009 | 4.8% | +26.6% |
| 2010 | 5.1% | +6.4% |
| 2011 | 4.9% | -5.3% |
| 2012 | 4.6% | -5.9% |
| 2013 | 4.9% | +6.3% |
| 2014 | 5.2% | +6.2% |
| 2015 | 5.7% | +9.7% |
| 2016 | 5.8% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 6.1% | +6.9% |
| 2019 | 6.5% | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 6.4% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 6.5% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 6.3% | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 5.8% | -8.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.1% | 2.9% | 4.8% | 9 |
| 2010s | 5.4% | 4.6% | 6.5% | 9 |
| 2020s | 6.3% | 5.8% | 6.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 2.63 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 42,707 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 9,424 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 230,157 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 2.92 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 198,049 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 2.3 % change on previous year (2023)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
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 5.8% 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 6.5% in 2021.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2000.
- How does Portugal rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Portugal ranks 30th out of 124 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 up 19.0%. 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 Services programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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