Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher was 45.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Saudi Arabia, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Saudi Arabia stood at 45.4%. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of up 18.3% on the previous year and up 75.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Saudi Arabia peaked at 45.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 12.0%, in 2000.
That places Saudi Arabia 23rd out of 110 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 12.0% | — |
| 2004 | 19.5% | +62.0% |
| 2013 | 25.9% | +32.7% |
| 2017 | 31.5% | +21.6% |
| 2018 | 30.9% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 30.4% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 37.9% | +24.9% |
| 2021 | 38.8% | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 39.1% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 38.4% | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 45.4% | +18.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.8% | 12.0% | 19.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 29.7% | 25.9% | 31.5% | 4 |
| 2020s | 39.9% | 37.9% | 45.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- 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 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 244,652 (2024)
- 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 share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher in Saudi Arabia was 45.4% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 45.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the population with post-secondary education or higher recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.0% in 2000.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of the population with post-secondary education or higher?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 23rd out of 110 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population with post-secondary education or higher rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 75.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.