UIS · Upper Secondary Attainment
Upper secondary attainment by country
What share of adults finished upper secondary school or more?
Belarus placed first of the 95 countries compared in 2023, at 97.89%, and Burkina Faso last, at 5.26%. In the middle country the figure was 65.76%. Among the 24 countries measured in every edition since 2000, the middle one moved from 53.10% to 74.27%.
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Part ofEducation & Knowledge
Upper secondary attainment · 2023
Context statistic
Highest of 95Belarus
97.89%012023 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 95 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: zedlik , cropped by Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Photo: Alexander Naumov derivative work: Inkey · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
3Photo: Strokin.ru derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
Lowest in 2023
- 95
Burkina Faso5.26% - 94
Senegal8.45% - 93
Cambodia10.45%
Positions out of 95. Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Upper secondary attainment on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- 5.26–39.10%
- 39.44–53.81%
- 53.97–74.12%
- 74.42–82.56%
- 82.69–97.89%
- No reading in 2023 (103 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
81.35%
the middle country, of 33 measured · 49 members
Belarus97.89%
Portugal46.35%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Asia
65.24%
the middle country, of 23 measured · 52 members
Armenia92.77%Cambodia10.45%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Americas
53.72%
the middle country, of 22 measured · 48 members
United States91.46%
Honduras21.65%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Oceania
39.53%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 21 members
Australia78.96%
Vanuatu12.24%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Africa
25.85%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 55 members
Egypt55.69%Burkina Faso5.26%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Every region
21 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Eastern Europe
86.98%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 10 members
Belarus97.89%
Romania72.77%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Northern Europe
83.00%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 13 members
Lithuania92.47%
Denmark78.06%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
78.04%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Switzerland84.28%
Netherlands74.12%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Western Asia
77.82%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 19 members
Armenia92.77%
Yemen25.61%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Caribbean
70.98%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 24 members
Bahamas90.90%
Dominican Republic44.50%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Southern Europe
68.88%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 17 members
Slovenia82.34%Portugal46.35%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- South America
54.51%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 12 members
Chile68.43%
Uruguay34.00%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- South-eastern Asia
39.27%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 11 members
Brunei67.87%Cambodia10.45%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Central America
37.33%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 8 members
Panama52.60%Honduras21.65%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Australia and New Zealand
1 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia.
Australia78.96%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Eastern Africa
1 of 19 measured — too few for a middle: Rwanda.
Rwanda14.63%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Eastern Asia
3 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: Hong Kong, Mongolia, South Korea.
South Korea80.86%
Hong Kong65.76%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Melanesia
1 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Vanuatu.
Vanuatu12.24%Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Micronesia
2 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Kiribati, Nauru.
Nauru39.53%
Kiribati13.94%Highest and lowest reading in Micronesia.
- Middle Africa
2 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: Angola, DR Congo.
DR Congo30.37%
Angola26.90%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Northern Africa
2 of 6 measured — too few for a middle: Egypt, Tunisia.
Egypt55.69%
Tunisia19.44%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
United States91.46%
Canada89.57%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
1 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Tonga.
Tonga41.55%Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
- Southern Africa
3 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa.
South Africa47.20%
Namibia37.47%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- Southern Asia
3 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: India, Iran, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka65.24%
India41.34%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Western Africa
4 of 16 measured — too few for a middle: Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Senegal.
Gambia24.80%Burkina Faso5.26%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
03The whole field at once
The spread
95 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 65.76%; a quarter are above 81.61%, and a quarter below 41.20%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 198 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. “=” marks a position shared with another country. UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. Like mean years of schooling, it moves slowly, because it describes adults who left school decades ago.
Showing 25 of 198 countries
Values for 2023. The change column compares 2023 with 2022 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052000–2023 · 23 editions
Over time
Each point is one year of UNESCO Institute for Statistics data. Few countries report every year, so lines often have gaps.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 24 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 95 | 65.76% | 41.20% – 81.61% | 74.27% |
| 2022 | 115 | 56.40% | 39.08% – 79.16% | 73.98% |
| 2021 | 99 | 64.90% | 42.31% – 79.77% | 73.73% |
| 2020 | 100 | 65.35% | 43.63% – 80.02% | 72.55% |
| 2019 | 116 | 55.22% | 35.25% – 76.82% | 71.82% |
| 2018 | 113 | 53.94% | 32.34% – 77.95% | 70.59% |
| 2017 | 111 | 51.19% | 30.17% – 76.15% | 69.61% |
| 2016 | 104 | 56.49% | 38.24% – 77.92% | 68.37% |
| 2015 | 107 | 50.37% | 29.37% – 75.07% | 67.63% |
| 2014 | 109 | 55.93% | 30.30% – 74.72% | 66.27% |
| 2013 | 96 | 54.78% | 34.30% – 75.26% | 66.40% |
| 2012 | 94 | 55.85% | 32.63% – 76.19% | 64.79% |
| 2011 | 95 | 54.70% | 32.45% – 73.25% | 63.82% |
| 2010 | 100 | 50.72% | 29.79% – 73.20% | 62.97% |
| 2009 | 88 | 55.76% | 33.60% – 75.21% | 62.76% |
| 2008 | 83 | 51.86% | 31.55% – 70.97% | 62.46% |
| 2007 | 76 | 56.79% | 33.17% – 73.64% | 61.47% |
| 2006 | 77 | 44.86% | 26.41% – 67.13% | 59.47% |
| 2005 | 65 | 43.91% | 25.36% – 65.03% | 57.72% |
| 2004 | 60 | 51.28% | 28.89% – 68.13% | 56.42% |
| 2003 | 54 | 51.57% | 32.05% – 66.39% | 56.21% |
| 2001 | 64 | 41.79% | 24.69% – 61.77% | 54.34% |
| 2000 | 57 | 42.50% | 22.00% – 70.73% | 53.10% |
062022 → 2023
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after80 countries were measured in both 2022 and 2023. The field changed from 115 to 95 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Upper secondary attainment in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
98.38%
Adults 25+ who completed upper secondary or higher (%)
Lowest reading on record
0.81%
Adults 25+ who completed upper secondary or higher (%)
Biggest improvement between editions
+17.03
24.59% → 41.62%
Biggest decline between editions
−16.30
40.89% → 24.59%
Most improved since first measured
+51.50
16.40% → 67.89%
At the top most often
5 of 23
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08By sex
Inside the number
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) also publishes separate female and male readings. The gap between them, where both exist.
Of the 94 countries with both readings, the female reading is higher in 37, the male reading in 57. The widest gaps each way:
09The measure
About upper secondary attainment
Upper secondary attainment is the share of adults aged 25 and over who finished upper secondary education or went further. It describes the education a country’s working-age population already holds, rather than what its schools are doing now.
What the number is: Adults 25+ who completed upper secondary or higher (%).
10Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Education & Knowledge, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Moves with
Where upper secondary attainment is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 93 countries in commonρ 0.88
- Upper Secondary Completion RateKeyUIS · 85 countries in commonρ 0.87
- Lower Secondary Completion RateUIS · 85 countries in commonρ 0.83
Moves against
Where upper secondary attainment is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 89 countries in commonρ −0.80
- Prevalence of UndernourishmentFAO · 83 countries in commonρ −0.74
- Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN)KeyNotre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 92 countries in commonρ −0.74
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 247 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
11Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
12Questions
Upper secondary attainment: questions and answers
Which country has the highest upper secondary attainment?
Belarus, at 97.89%, among the 95 countries compared in 2023.
Which country has the lowest upper secondary attainment?
Burkina Faso, at 5.26%, among the 95 countries compared in 2023.
How many countries does the Upper Secondary Attainment cover?
95 in 2023, and 198 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 54 to 116 between editions.
What is the world average upper secondary attainment?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 95 compared in 2023, the figure was 65.76%.
Is this UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)’s own ranking?
No. UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Upper Secondary Attainment published?
This site holds 23 editions, describing 2000 to 2023.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), under CC BY-SA 4.0. From the UNESCO Institute for Statistics data API. Years reporting fewer than 50 countries are left out. Female and male rates are stored beside the headline. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
13Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Upper Secondary Attainment — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
From the UNESCO Institute for Statistics data API. Years reporting fewer than 50 countries are left out. Female and male rates are stored beside the headline.
Newest edition
Report year 2023Data year 2023
Cite the source as: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. UIS Data Browser. Montreal: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0, checked 2026-09-05.
How this page reads the numbers
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Belarus — zedlik , cropped by Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Armenia — Alexander Naumov derivative work: Inkey, CC BY 3.0
- Russia — Strokin.ru derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Upper secondary attainment by country: Upper Secondary Attainment, data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/upper-secondary-attainment