Countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64

Canada had the highest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64 of 36 countries in 2024, at 64.7%. Mexico had the lowest, at 21.9%. The median was 42.6%. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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Highest64.7Canada
Lowest21.9Mexico
Median42.636 countries

Map of countries, 2024

Austria: 37.7 %Australia: 53.1 %Belgium: 45 %Canada: 64.7 %Switzerland: 46.5 %Chile: 36.6 %Colombia: 30.6 %Costa Rica: 27.8 %Czechia: 27.5 %Germany: 34.3 %Denmark: 45.1 %Estonia: 42.5 %Spain: 42.3 %Finland: 42.7 %France: 43.4 %United Kingdom: 53.8 %Greece: 35.3 %Hungary: 31.1 %Ireland: 57.5 %Israel: 50.5 %Italy: 22.3 %Japan: 57 %South Korea: 56.2 %Lithuania: 47.7 %Luxembourg: 54.4 %Latvia: 40.5 %Mexico: 21.9 %Netherlands: 45.1 %Norway: 49.6 %New Zealand: 44 %Poland: 39.5 %Portugal: 31.4 %Sweden: 51.8 %Slovenia: 34.6 %Slovakia: 29 %Türkiye: 26.9 %
  • Under 30
  • 30 to 36
  • 36 to 43
  • 43 to 46
  • 46 to 53
  • 53 and over
  • No data
%, 2024. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: OECD, OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All countries, 2024

Canada: 64.7 %Canada64.7Ireland: 57.5 %Ireland57.5Japan: 57 %Japan57South Korea: 56.2 %South Korea56.2Luxembourg: 54.4 %Luxembourg54.4United Kingdom: 53.8 %United Kingdom53.8Australia: 53.1 %Australia53.1Sweden: 51.8 %Sweden51.8Israel: 50.5 %Israel50.5Norway: 49.6 %Norway49.6Lithuania: 47.7 %Lithuania47.7Switzerland: 46.5 %Switzerland46.5Netherlands: 45.1 %Netherlands45.1Denmark: 45.1 %Denmark45.1Belgium: 45 %Belgium45New Zealand: 44 %New Zealand44France: 43.4 %France43.4Finland: 42.7 %Finland42.7Estonia: 42.5 %Estonia42.5Spain: 42.3 %Spain42.3Latvia: 40.5 %Latvia40.5Poland: 39.5 %Poland39.5Austria: 37.7 %Austria37.7Chile: 36.6 %Chile36.6Greece: 35.3 %Greece35.3Slovenia: 34.6 %Slovenia34.6Germany: 34.3 %Germany34.3Portugal: 31.4 %Portugal31.4Hungary: 31.1 %Hungary31.1Colombia: 30.6 %Colombia30.6Slovakia: 29 %Slovakia29Costa Rica: 27.8 %Costa Rica27.8Czechia: 27.5 %Czechia27.5Türkiye: 26.9 %Türkiye26.9Italy: 22.3 %Italy22.3Mexico: 21.9 %Mexico21.9Canada: 64.7 %Canada64.7Ireland: 57.5 %Ireland57.5Japan: 57 %Japan57South Korea: 56.2 %South Korea56.2Luxembourg: 54.4 %Luxembourg54.4United Kingdom: 53.8 %United Kingdom53.8Australia: 53.1 %Australia53.1Sweden: 51.8 %Sweden51.8Israel: 50.5 %Israel50.5Norway: 49.6 %Norway49.6Lithuania: 47.7 %Lithuania47.7Switzerland: 46.5 %Switzerland46.5Netherlands: 45.1 %Netherlands45.1Denmark: 45.1 %Denmark45.1Belgium: 45 %Belgium45New Zealand: 44 %New Zealand44France: 43.4 %France43.4Finland: 42.7 %Finland42.7Estonia: 42.5 %Estonia42.5Spain: 42.3 %Spain42.3Latvia: 40.5 %Latvia40.5Poland: 39.5 %Poland39.5Austria: 37.7 %Austria37.7Chile: 36.6 %Chile36.6Greece: 35.3 %Greece35.3Slovenia: 34.6 %Slovenia34.6Germany: 34.3 %Germany34.3Portugal: 31.4 %Portugal31.4Hungary: 31.1 %Hungary31.1Colombia: 30.6 %Colombia30.6Slovakia: 29 %Slovakia29Costa Rica: 27.8 %Costa Rica27.8Czechia: 27.5 %Czechia27.5Türkiye: 26.9 %Türkiye26.9Italy: 22.3 %Italy22.3Mexico: 21.9 %Mexico21.9
%. Source: OECD, OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2024 (%)Change on 2023
1Canada64.7+1.4 pts
2Ireland57.5+3 pts
3Japan57+1 pts
4South Korea56.2+1.7 pts
5Luxembourg54.4+3 pts
6United Kingdom53.8+0.8 pts
7Australia53.1n/a
8Sweden51.8+2.4 pts
9Israel50.5+0.2 pts
10Norway49.6+1 pts
11Lithuania47.7+1.3 pts
12Switzerland46.5+0.4 pts
13Netherlands45.1+0.8 pts
14Denmark45.1+2.2 pts
15Belgium45+0.2 pts
16New Zealand44+2.4 pts
17France43.4+0.9 pts
18Finland42.7+0.2 pts
19Estonia42.5+1 pts
20Spain42.3+0.8 pts
21Latvia40.5+1.3 pts
22Poland39.5+1.5 pts
23Austria37.7+1.1 pts
24Chile36.6n/a
25Greece35.3+1 pts
26Slovenia34.6+1.1 pts
27Germany34.3+1.2 pts
28Portugal31.4+1.6 pts
29Hungary31.1+1.3 pts
30Colombia30.6+1.6 pts
31Slovakia29+0.2 pts
32Costa Rica27.8+2.5 pts
33Czechia27.5+0.5 pts
34Türkiye26.9+1 pts
35Italy22.3+0.7 pts
36Mexico21.9+0.9 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 to 64 whose highest completed level of education is tertiary (ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8: short-cycle tertiary, bachelor's or equivalent, master's or equivalent, and doctoral), as a percentage of all people aged 25 to 64. Measured by national labour force surveys.

Includes short-cycle tertiary programmes such as US associate degrees, so it is higher than the US bachelors_degree_share, which also covers everyone aged 25 and over.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. 7 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2024 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

OECD. OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_LSO_EA%40DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2026). OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA) (Countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_LSO_EA%40DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP

MLA 9

OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA), Countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2024. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 12 Oct. 2026, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_LSO_EA%40DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/countries?period=2024. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2026. OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA). Countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_LSO_EA%40DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/countries?period=2024.

Harvard

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2026) OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA), Countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_LSO_EA%40DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/countries?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_countries_by_tertiary_education_2024,
  author = {{Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development}},
  title = {{OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD\_EAG\_LSO\_EA@DF\_LSO\_NEAC\_DISTR\_EA): Countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_LSO_EA%40DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/countries?period=2024. Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD\_EAG\_LSO\_EA@DF\_LSO\_NEAC\_DISTR\_EA). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ\&df[id]=DSD\_EAG\_LSO\_EA\%40DF\_LSO\_NEAC\_DISTR\_EA\&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
TI  - OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA): Countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/12
PB  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_LSO_EA%40DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/countries?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/countries?period=2024.
N1  - Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_LSO_EA%40DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.
ER  - 
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Rank Countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64 using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which country has the highest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64?

Canada, with 64.7% in 2024, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Which country has the lowest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64?

Mexico, with 21.9% in 2024.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD Education at a Glance: share of 25 to 64 year-olds with tertiary education, ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8 (DSD_EAG_LSO_EA@DF_LSO_NEAC_DISTR_EA). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 7 countries have no value for 2024 and are not ranked.

Tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64: other rankings

Countries: more rankings