Share of all students in upper … upper both sexes vocational in China
China: Share of all students in upper … upper both sexes vocational was 38.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in China, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in China stood at 38.3%.
That represents a change of down 3.5% on the previous year and down 13.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in China peaked at 56.6% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 38.2%, in 2006.
That places China 44th out of 168 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Share of all students in upper … upper both sexes vocational in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 56.6% | — |
| 2000 | 53.0% | -6.4% |
| 2003 | 39.7% | -25.1% |
| 2006 | 38.2% | -3.8% |
| 2007 | 40.4% | +5.8% |
| 2008 | 42.6% | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 44.3% | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 45.5% | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 45.5% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 44.5% | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 46.0% | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 44.0% | -4.3% |
| 2015 | 42.1% | -4.4% |
| 2016 | 41.0% | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 40.3% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 40.1% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 39.5% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 39.5% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 40.0% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 40.0% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 39.7% | -0.9% |
| 2024 | 38.3% | -3.5% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 38.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 24.8%, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- China's 38.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.8%, 2.4× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of all students in upper … upper both sexes vocational in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | -25.1% | 53.0% | 39.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 56.6% | 56.6% | 56.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 43.0% | 38.2% | 53.0% | 6 |
| 2010s | 42.8% | 39.5% | 46.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.5% | 38.3% | 40.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
- 41 Spain 39.2% compare
- 42 El Salvador 39.1% compare
- 43 Kyrgyzstan 38.7% compare
- 45 Portugal 37.9% compare
- 46 Estonia 37.8% compare
- 47 United Kingdom 37.4% compare
More education data for China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in China?
- Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in China was 38.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 56.6% in 1999.
- What is the lowest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.2% in 2006.
- How does China rank for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in?
- China ranks 44th out of 168 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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, both sexes (%). 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