Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in was 38.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is 38.0%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and down 14.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 54.4% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 16.3%, in 2011.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 36th of 168 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 22.6% | — |
| 1999 | 33.8% | +49.4% |
| 2000 | 34.6% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 33.9% | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 35.6% | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 33.8% | -5.0% |
| 2004 | 38.3% | +13.2% |
| 2005 | 39.0% | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 31.1% | -20.1% |
| 2007 | 31.1% | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 22.8% | -26.8% |
| 2009 | 21.6% | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 22.6% | +4.9% |
| 2011 | 16.3% | -28.0% |
| 2012 | 17.2% | +5.3% |
| 2013 | 44.3% | +158.1% |
| 2014 | 43.0% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 40.1% | -6.8% |
| 2016 | 54.4% | +35.5% |
| 2017 | 47.6% | -12.5% |
| 2018 | 44.7% | -6.0% |
| 2019 | 42.1% | -5.9% |
| 2020 | 40.5% | -3.7% |
| 2021 | 40.2% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 39.2% | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 38.0% | -3.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 28.2% | 22.6% | 33.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 32.2% | 21.6% | 39.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.2% | 16.3% | 54.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.5% | 38.0% | 40.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
More education data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 38.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 54.4% in 2016.
- What is the lowest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.3% in 2011.
- How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 36th out of 168 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.2%. 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 Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in vocational programmes, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release