Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Portugal
Portugal: Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher was 26.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Portugal, 2004–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Portugal recorded 26.1% for share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in 2024. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.3% on the previous year and up 45.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Portugal peaked at 26.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 10.7%, in 2004.
That places Portugal 61st out of 110 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 10.7% | — |
| 2005 | 10.9% | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 11.7% | +6.8% |
| 2007 | 11.8% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 12.1% | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 12.5% | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 13.2% | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 14.5% | +9.8% |
| 2012 | 15.6% | +7.7% |
| 2013 | 16.3% | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 18.0% | +10.2% |
| 2015 | 18.7% | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 19.6% | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 19.8% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 19.2% | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 21.4% | +11.5% |
| 2020 | 23.1% | +7.8% |
| 2021 | 21.9% | -5.1% |
| 2022 | 24.1% | +9.8% |
| 2023 | 24.5% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 26.1% | +6.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 11.6% | 10.7% | 12.5% | 6 |
| 2010s | 17.6% | 13.2% | 21.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.9% | 21.9% | 26.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 375,800 (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.1701 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 265,025 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 2.31 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 428,206 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Portugal?
- Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Portugal was 26.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with post-secondary education or higher recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 26.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the population with post-secondary education or higher recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.7% in 2004.
- How does Portugal rank for share of the population with post-secondary education or higher?
- Portugal ranks 61st out of 110 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population with post-secondary education or higher rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 45.0%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Share of adults aged 25 and older who have completed post-secondary or tertiary education.