Share of the population with a completed post secondary education in France
France: Share of the population with a completed post secondary education was 37.42 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with a completed post secondary education in France, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
France recorded 37.42 for share of the population with a completed post secondary education in 2023. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 36.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with a completed post secondary education in France peaked at 37.42 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 11.43, in 1990.
France ranks 40th of 110 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Share of the population with a completed post secondary education in France, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 11.43 | — |
| 2004 | 19.9 | +74.1% |
| 2005 | 20.64 | +3.7% |
| 2007 | 22.62 | +9.6% |
| 2008 | 23.04 | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 22.57 | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 24.52 | +8.6% |
| 2011 | 25.22 | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 26.06 | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 27.37 | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 28.66 | +4.7% |
| 2015 | 30.5 | +6.4% |
| 2016 | 29.62 | -2.9% |
| 2017 | 30.23 | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 31.61 | +4.6% |
| 2019 | 32.3 | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 33.86 | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 35.98 | +6.3% |
| 2022 | 36.74 | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 37.42 | +1.9% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 37.42 is below the median for high income countries, which is 39.39, 95% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- France's 37.42 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 37.35, 1.0× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with a completed post secondary education in France 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +74.1% | 11.43 | 19.9 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.43 | 11.43 | 11.43 | 1 |
| 2000s | 21.75 | 19.9 | 23.04 | 5 |
| 2010s | 28.61 | 24.52 | 32.3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 36 | 33.86 | 37.42 | 4 |
Countries ranked near France
More education data for France
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.97 (2016)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.8 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 457,956 (2019)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 43,533 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.19 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.14 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.27 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.13 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.27 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with a completed post secondary education in France?
- Share of the population with a completed post secondary education in France was 37.42 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with a completed post secondary education recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 37.42 in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of the population with a completed post secondary education recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.43 in 1990.
- How does France rank for share of the population with a completed post secondary education?
- France ranks 40th out of 110 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of the population with a completed post secondary education rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with a completed post secondary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).