Country rankings

Tertiary Education Attainment by Country

Norway has the highest Tertiary Education (age 25-34) in 2024 (98.7%), followed by Hungary (92.9%) and Netherlands (92.1%). South Africa has the lowest (35.5%).

40 of 235 countries

Tertiary Education (age 25-34), 2024

Darker green is better (higher is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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All 40 ranked

Best first.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
88.0%
Middle half 82.9% – 90.2%
Average
85.4%
40 countries
Highest
98.7%
Norway
Lowest
35.5%
South Africa

Over time · 2022–2024

The top 5 in 2024, against the median.

  • Median of all countries
  • Norway
  • Hungary
  • Netherlands
  • Lithuania
  • Poland

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

40 countries · # = rank by Tertiary Education (age 25-34)
#
1Norway98.7%97.0%—96.3%—93.2%
2Hungary92.9%93.0%92.8%80.5%87.7%75.9%
3Netherlands92.1%93.8%90.7%83.0%87.1%78.5%
4Lithuania92.0%93.6%90.7%81.5%79.2%82.5%
5Poland91.8%95.3%89.4%75.0%82.5%70.2%
5Romania91.8%94.3%89.8%73.2%73.3%73.1%
7Japan90.8%93.3%87.8%84.9%90.0%72.1%
8Australia90.5%94.3%87.7%77.8%80.9%75.0%
8Switzerland90.5%92.3%88.8%83.5%87.1%78.4%
10New Zealand90.3%93.1%88.2%84.5%87.6%81.8%
11Slovenia90.2%93.5%88.0%75.9%79.9%73.0%
12United Kingdom90.1%92.7%87.9%71.2%74.7%67.8%
13Ireland90.0%92.5%87.9%76.1%80.3%72.6%
14Bulgaria89.9%91.9%88.5%83.3%84.6%82.4%
15Portugal88.8%89.0%88.7%85.0%85.5%84.6%
16Germany88.6%91.8%85.7%83.7%85.8%80.5%
16Belgium88.6%89.1%88.3%77.2%83.1%71.6%
18Latvia88.5%93.1%85.6%83.5%82.9%83.8%
19Finland88.2%89.7%87.1%81.7%80.5%82.6%
19Estonia88.2%95.0%83.9%86.2%83.3%87.7%
21France87.7%89.5%86.2%74.6%77.5%72.1%
21Luxembourg87.7%89.4%86.2%64.9%69.0%60.2%
23Sweden87.2%89.5%85.5%84.2%84.9%83.7%
23Denmark87.2%89.7%85.2%83.3%86.3%80.9%
25Canada86.0%88.0%84.4%68.2%73.6%63.7%
25Austria86.0%87.1%85.0%73.8%79.3%66.4%
25Slovakia86.0%90.5%83.1%83.5%83.3%83.6%
28Israel85.4%88.0%83.7%80.8%86.4%75.8%
29Croatia85.3%82.6%87.1%78.2%75.9%80.1%
30Mexico83.3%89.6%77.8%61.2%73.9%48.2%
31Spain81.8%83.2%80.7%74.5%78.1%71.1%
32Colombia81.1%88.2%75.9%66.0%77.8%56.1%
33Peru80.1%87.9%72.5%75.9%84.2%67.1%
34South Korea79.6%82.2%77.3%74.0%82.1%61.3%
35Greece79.0%81.2%77.4%67.4%71.0%64.0%
36Costa Rica78.9%84.8%73.9%53.7%57.4%50.0%
37Czechia77.8%93.9%66.9%90.1%91.1%89.2%
38Italy74.5%75.2%74.1%85.1%90.1%80.8%
39Turkey73.7%87.3%61.9%52.1%61.8%35.4%
40South Africa35.5%66.0%11.5%34.6%72.6%2%

What correlates with Tertiary Education (age 25-34) (2024)?

Pearson r against 2,092 other country metrics sharing at least 24 countries. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Tertiary Education (age 25-34) tend to score higher on these

  1. % of Urban Population with Access to ElectricityCountries without Electricity
    r = +0.84 · very strong · n = 40
    Plot
  2. % of Total Population with Access to ElectricityCountries without Electricity
    r = +0.83 · very strong · n = 40
    Plot
  3. Access to Electricity (% of People)Development Indicators by Country (World Bank)
    r = +0.83 · very strong · n = 40
    Plot
  4. Men's Hair LengthAverage Hair Length by Country
    r = +0.78 · very strong · n = 35
    Plot
  5. HPI %Countries with Open Borders
    r = +0.73 · very strong · n = 40
    Plot
  6. Average IQ (Lynn/Becker)Average IQ by Country
    r = +0.73 · very strong · n = 40
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Tertiary Education (age 25-34) tend to score lower on these

  1. # of BlackoutsEuropean Union (EU) Blackout Countries
    r = −0.91 · very strong · n = 25
    Plot
  2. People Living with HIVHIV Rates by Country
    r = −0.90 · very strong · n = 24
    Plot
  3. HIV Prevalence Among AdultsHIV Rates by Country
    r = −0.90 · very strong · n = 24
    Plot
  4. Social Inequality ScoreDisposable Income by Country
    r = −0.90 · very strong · n = 31
    Plot
  5. Unemployment Rate - ILOUnemployment by Country
    r = −0.87 · very strong · n = 40
    Plot
  6. Tuberculosis Total IncidenceTuberculosis Rate by Country
    r = −0.86 · very strong · n = 40
    Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Tertiary Education (age 25-34)?
Norway has the highest Tertiary Education (age 25-34) in 2024, at 98.7%, followed by Hungary (92.9%) and Netherlands (92.1%).
Which country has the lowest Tertiary Education (age 25-34)?
South Africa has the lowest Tertiary Education (age 25-34) in 2024, at 35.5%.
What is the median Tertiary Education (age 25-34) across countries?
The median is 88.0% across the 40 countries with data in 2024.
Where does this tertiary education attainment by country data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Data Explorer - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Population with tertiary education - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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