Share of the population with lower secondary education in Finland
Finland: Share of the population with lower secondary education was 91.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with lower secondary education in Finland, 1985–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of the population with lower secondary education in Finland stood at 91.7%. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with lower secondary education in Finland peaked at 91.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 44.4%, in 1985.
Finland ranks 38th of 135 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 lower secondary education in Finland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 44.4% | — |
| 1990 | 50.6% | +14.0% |
| 2006 | 78.3% | +54.6% |
| 2007 | 79.3% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 79.4% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 79.9% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 81.1% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 82.4% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 83.5% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 84.3% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 85.5% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 85.6% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 86.5% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 87.5% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 88.3% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 88.8% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 89.7% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 90.3% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 91.2% | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 91.7% | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 44.4% | 44.4% | 44.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 50.6% | 50.6% | 50.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 79.2% | 78.3% | 79.9% | 4 |
| 2010s | 85.4% | 81.1% | 88.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 90.7% | 89.7% | 91.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Finland
More education data for Finland
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 543,350 (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 1.68 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 30,824 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.7 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 280,873 (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.56 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 262,477 (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.81 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 183,354 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual -1.44 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with lower secondary education in Finland?
- Share of the population with lower secondary education in Finland was 91.7% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with lower secondary education recorded in Finland?
- The highest recorded value was 91.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of the population with lower secondary education recorded in Finland?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.4% in 1985.
- How does Finland rank for share of the population with lower secondary education?
- Finland ranks 38th out of 135 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of the population with lower secondary education rising or falling in Finland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Finland 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 lower 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).
About this data
Share of adults aged 25 and older who have completed lower secondary education or higher.