Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal
Portugal: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 4.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal is 4.1%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 10.5% on the previous year and up 15.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Portugal peaked at 5.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.4%, in 2000.
Portugal ranks 44th of 122 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
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 | 2.4% | — |
| 2002 | 2.7% | +13.7% |
| 2003 | 3.0% | +12.6% |
| 2004 | 4.1% | +33.8% |
| 2005 | 3.8% | -6.3% |
| 2006 | 3.7% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 3.4% | -8.8% |
| 2008 | 3.1% | -9.3% |
| 2009 | 3.5% | +14.2% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 3.6% | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 3.6% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 3.6% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 3.8% | +5.8% |
| 2015 | 4.2% | +11.0% |
| 2016 | 4.5% | +6.7% |
| 2017 | 4.7% | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 5.0% | +4.9% |
| 2020 | 5.1% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 4.9% | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 4.6% | -7.0% |
| 2023 | 4.1% | -10.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.3% | 2.4% | 4.1% | 9 |
| 2010s | 4.0% | 3.4% | 5.0% | 9 |
| 2020s | 4.7% | 4.1% | 5.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- 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)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,022 tertiary education (2023)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 52,131 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (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 4.1% 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 5.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.4% in 2000.
- How does Portugal rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Portugal ranks 44th 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 up 15.4%. 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, female (%). 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