Gender disparities at the upper secondary level affect students’ pathways in the labour market and higher education. On average, 51% of graduates from upper secondary general programmes are female, but in vocational programmes female only make up 46% of graduates.
Enrolment rates between public and private institutions differ in countries due to factors such as parental choices or the funding of schools. At the upper secondary level, 23% of students were enrolled in private institutions in 2022, an increase of 5 percentage points since 2013.
Family background strongly influences success in upper secondary education. In all countries with available data, students whose parents have lower educational attainment have substantially lower completion rates than students with a tertiary-educated parent. Completion rates for students with immigrant backgrounds are also lower than for non-immigrant students.
Education at a Glance 2024
An upper secondary qualification (ISCED level 3) is often considered the minimum credential for successful entry into the labour market and essential for pursuing higher education. Young people who leave school before completing upper secondary education tend to have worse employment prospects (see Chapters A3 and A4).
For many students, transitioning from lower to upper secondary education involves choosing between general education and vocational education and training (VET). The selection process and influencing factors, such as test results, academic performance and teacher recommendations, vary between countries. The transition to upper secondary education is also a time when many students have to make decisions about their fields of study that will influence their future career. Vocational programmes always require this choice and many general programmes also have specialisations that students can choose. Another critical decision may be the type of school: public or private, and, if private, the specific kind. While economic factors may play a role in this choice, it is increasingly based on the opportunities each institution offers in terms of pedagogy and student welfare. Some students and their parents also select a school based on its success in helping graduates gain admission to prestigious universities.
Upper secondary education is also the time when differences emerge in student outcomes and participation. Some students leave education before obtaining an upper secondary qualification and enrolment rates at the typical age for upper secondary education are well below 100% in most countries. Similarly, not all students who enrol in upper secondary education will complete it. Disparities by gender, region or socio-economic background in these measures can highlight where countries are struggling to provide the best possible education to all students.
Policy makers often grapple with how best to support students to succeed in upper secondary education. One strategy involves obliging or asking weak students to repeat a year to consolidate their skills and ultimately increase their chances of successfully completing their programmes. However, the effectiveness of grade repetition is debated and repetition policies vary significantly from country to country.
Many countries offer upper secondary programmes to adults, providing a second chance to those who did not complete it during their initial education. Moreover, adults who obtained an upper secondary qualification during their initial education may enrol again in vocational upper secondary programmes to upskill or reskill. The nature of programmes targeted at adults varies considerably across different countries.
Grade repetition is one of the tools used to help students falling behind the school curriculum to complete their programmes without failing or dropping out, but the effectiveness of this is up for debate. Among the total enrolled students at upper secondary level, 3% of students have repeated a grade in their current level of education, and 57% of them were boys.
Adult education provides older population the opportunity to either gain educational qualifications or upskill in order to take an edge in the labour market. Students aged 25 and over participating in adult education make up 10% of the total enrolled students at upper secondary level. While only 5% of students at general programmes are aged over 24, 18% of students in vocational programmes participate in adult education.
This chapter focuses primarily on the equity of upper secondary education, while also covering the main findings for post-secondary non-tertiary education.
Upper secondary education differs from earlier levels of education, as it offers students more varied, specialised and in-depth instruction and content. It typically lasts three years, but the duration ranges from two years (as in Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ireland, Lithuania and Peru) to five years (as in Bulgaria and Italy). The typical starting age is 15, but in some countries, students start earlier, at age 14 (as in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Hungary, India, Italy and Türkiye), while in others, students start far later, at 17 (as in Lithuania). Although students complete upper secondary education at the age of 17 or 18 in most countries, they do so at 16 in Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru and at the age of 19 to 20 in Iceland (Table X1.5).
The full cycle of upper secondary education is compulsory in 12 education systems (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Türkiye). However, participation is partially compulsory (i.e. for the first years of upper secondary education) in 17 countries and not compulsory at all for 14 countries (see Chapter B2, Table B2.1). In countries where upper secondary education has been made fully compulsory, the goal is often to boost participation rates, as was the case in Portugal (2009) and Mexico (2012). However, the link between compulsory attendance and enrolment rates is unclear. Evidence suggests that the benefits mainly accrue to disadvantaged students and depend on a country’s financial resources and ability to enforce compliance. Enrolment rates are also affected by various factors and policies, including the management of transitions into upper secondary education (Santos, 2023[1]).
Post-secondary non-tertiary education can prepare students for entry into the labour market or, less commonly, for tertiary education. The knowledge, skills and competencies offered tend to be less complex than is characteristic of tertiary education, and not significantly more complex than upper secondary programmes. Post-secondary non-tertiary education has a full-time equivalent duration of between six months and two years.
On average, about 84% of 15-19 year-olds participate in education, ranging from 58% in Mexico to 97% in Poland. The enrolment rate for this age group has not changed much since 2013, showing a slight increase of 1 percentage points. However, in Italy, enrolment rate increased by 9 percentage points from 78% in 2013 to 87% in 2022, after implementing the Buona Scuola (Good School) initiative (Republic of Italy, 2015[2]) and Piano Nazionale di Contrasto alla Dispersione Scolastica (National Plan to Combat School Dropout) to improve teacher training, early interventions to prevent students dropping out and the provision of diverse pathways such as vocational training. Chile also saw a large increase in the enrolment rate, by 6 percentage points from 78% in 2013 to 84% in 2022, due to the Ley de Inclusión Escolar (School Inclusion Law) (Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, 2015[3]) and Ley de Educación Técnico-Profesional (Technical and Vocational Education Law). These laws aimed to improve equity in education and expand access to vocational education programmes (Table B3.2).
Although most 15-19 year-olds are enrolled at upper secondary level, they may also be attending lower secondary or tertiary levels in some countries. Apart from six countries, more than half of all 15-19 year-olds who are in education are enrolled at upper secondary level. Overall upper secondary enrolment rates range from 30% in Colombia to 87% in Poland. On average, 37% of 15-19 year-olds are enrolled in upper secondary general programmes and 24% in vocational programmes, and the enrolment rate is higher for general pathways in all but 10 countries. In Lithuania, 42% of this age group are enrolled in lower secondary education, the same share as for upper secondary education, while more than 20% of 15-19 year-olds are enrolled in tertiary education in France, Greece and Korea (Table B3.2).
Enrolment at subnational level varies widely across regions within countries. It is influenced by multiple factors, including access to education within a region and labour-market opportunities.
Regional variation in enrolment among 15-19 year-olds varies much more widely than among younger age groups. It exceeds 35 percentage points in Colombia, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary and Romania. On the contrary, Finland, where compulsory education lasts until the age of 18, has one of the smallest regional disparities (Figure B3.2).
Low enrolment rates in certain regions could be due to high dropout rates, the types of educational institutions, school funding, whether education is compulsory and how urban the region is. Variations in upper secondary enrolment rates significatively affect students’ enrolment in higher education, how likely they are to be neither in employment nor in formal education or training (NEET) and youth employment rates. In Türkiye, for instance, regions with enrolment rates of 15-19 year-olds below the country average of 73% have lower employment rates among 25-34 year-olds. In the Middle and East Southeastern Anatolia region, where the enrolment rate is just around 61%, the employment rate among 25-34 year-olds is 48% or less. In contrast, in the Middle and East Western Black Sea region with an enrolment rate of 73%, 68% of 25-34 year-olds are employed (See Figure B3.2 and Chapter A1).
Enrolment rates in all levels of education combined
Source: OECD (2024), Regional Education statistics. For more information see Source section and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en
See under Chapter B3 Tables for StatLink.
The share of students enrolled in private institutions is higher for upper secondary education than for lower levels of education. On average, 23% of upper secondary students were enrolled in private institutions in 2022, compared to 15% in primary education and 18% in lower secondary education. The share of students enrolled in upper secondary education exceeds 50% in five countries: Australia, Belgium, Chile, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Notably, the difference in the share of students in private institutions between lower secondary and upper secondary education is more than 20 percentage points in Iceland, Japan and Korea (see Chapter B2, Table B2.3).
On average, the share of students enrolled in private institutions is similar between general programmes (24%) and vocational programmes (22%) at the upper secondary level but higher for post-secondary non-tertiary vocational programmes (43%). Belgium, Chile, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom stand out with over half of students in upper secondary general and vocational programmes enrolled in private institutions, while in Australia and Indonesia, this was only the case for upper secondary vocational programmes. Moreover, in countries where a large proportion of students are enrolled in private institutions at the upper secondary level, the majority attend government-dependent private institutions, with less than 10% enrolled in independent private institutions (See Data Explorer, enrolment data by institution). Among the countries with a significant share of over 3% of students enrolled in post-secondary non-tertiary vocational education, over half are enrolled in private institutions in Greece and the Netherlands, whereas less than one-third attend private institutions in Germany and Hungary (Figure B3.3).
Between 2013 and 2022, the average proportion of students enrolled in private institutions at the upper secondary level increased slightly on average by about 4 percentage points, rising from 18% to 23%. Notably, Australia experienced a larger increase by 17 percentage points, while the share of students in vocational programmes almost doubled from 37% to 66% (Table B3.2).
Comparisons of the share of students in private institutions should be made with caution, as the characteristics and funding of such institutions vary significantly between countries. Differences in school systems and funding mechanisms between public and private schools are key considerations for families when making choices for upper secondary education. For instance, in countries like Finland, where education from primary to tertiary levels is universally free, private institutions may also be free of charge lower tuition fees due to government funding (Eurydice, 2024[4]). Funding approaches differ across systems; some allocate public funds directly to schools based on student enrolment numbers, while others provide families with vouchers or scholarships to use at their chosen institutions. In Chile, where over 60% of upper secondary students are enrolled in private institutions, parents opting for the public education system can choose between municipal or private-voucher schools, where government-provided vouchers cover tuition fees for a year (Murnane et al., 2017[5]).
In many countries, a preference for private institutions also stems from parental choices driven by the prospects of admission to prestigious universities or to find better programmes to meet their demands. Although students are typically assigned to schools near their neighbourhood, some countries have implemented school-choice policies, especially involving private schools, to give students more choice and offer them a wider range of programmes tailored to the needs or preferences of families (Abdulkadiroğlu, Pathak and Walters, 2018[6]). School-choice policies have increased competition among schools to attract more students. Advocates argue that school choice provides incentives for institutions to better cater to diverse student interests. On the other hand, some studies raise the concern that disadvantaged families may not be able to access the private schools of their choice due to the time and money required to commute to distant schools and the financial burden of school fees (Bierbaum, Karner and Barajas, 2020[7]). Some also argue that school-choice practices may lead to greater disparities in the quality of education based on school resources and funding. However, PISA results show that share of students in private schools and the intensity of school competition are not negatively correlated with socio-economic fairness in education systems except for private schools with selective admissions processes (OECD, 2023[8]).
Equity in education often hinges on the policies schools implement for student sorting and selection. Grade repetition, where students are held back in the same grade, is one such policy aimed at providing struggling students with additional time to grasp grade-level content before progressing to the next level (and potentially preventing them from dropping out). Although research suggests that grade repetition is not always effective at boosting the achievement of low-performing students in the short-term, early grade repetition may prevent repetition in later grades (Goos, Pipa and Peixoto, 2021[9]).
On average, in 2022, 3% of students had to repeat a grade in upper secondary education, but the share is 5% and over in Belgium, Czechia, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland and Türkiye (Figure B3.4). Since 2015, there has been a slight decrease among OECD countries on average. Chile and Latvia saw the share of repeaters drop by almost 6 percentage points between 2015 and 2022, whereas it increased by 4 percentage points in Colombia and Mexico (Table B3.3). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can also be seen in fluctuations in the numbers, with most countries experiencing a substantial decrease in the share of repeaters in 2021 (see Data Explorer). For instance, Germany and Spain implemented policies during the pandemic to discourage grade repetition, resulting in a lower share of repeater students initially, followed by a rebound after the pandemic's end (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2022[10]; Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional, 2024[11]).
As the effectiveness of grade repetition is up for debate, many countries have implemented policies to reduce grade repetition at all education levels from primary to upper secondary education. Some countries have made policy changes about where the final decision lies over grade repetition or the conditions under which students repeat a grade. The decision to repeat a grade is taken by classroom teachers in many countries (see Chapter B2).
In France, the policy on grade repetition has shifted in recent years. From 2013 to 2024, grade repetition was to be used only in exceptional circumstances. In elementary education, grade repetition could be proposed by the teachers' council, but the decision was taken only after the opinion of the national education inspector in primary education. From 2024 onwards, in elementary education, the decision to repeat a year may be taken by the teachers' council chaired by the school head, but parents still could contest the decision. Only one grade may be repeated during a student's primary or lower secondary schooling. In exceptional cases, a second repetition at primary or lower secondary level may be proposed. In the upper secondary education, the decision is still the responsibility of the school head (République française, 2024[12]). While Belgium has experienced a decline in repeater rates in recent years, there are potential changes on the horizon. In the Flemish community of Belgium, starting from the 2023/24 school year, all first graders of primary education will be required to either change their study programme (B-certificate) or repeat a year (C-certificate) if they fail the end-of-year exam. Normally, this process only started from the second year onward (Eurydice, 2023[13]).
Boys are over-represented among repeating students in 19 out of 27 OECD countries with available data, and boys make up about 57% of repeaters on average (Table B3.3). These gender differences may be due gender role conformity, gender biases among teachers, motivation to learn and having a growth mindset, or the belief in the malleability of ability and intelligence (OECD, 2021[14]). Boys are less likely to have a growth mindset than girls, which prevents them from challenging themselves to work harder in subjects they struggle with. Boys who adhered strongly to traditional gender norms and violence were especially likely to believe that they would be less likely to succeed and improve their academic performance in subjects preferred by girls, such as English, compared to those like mathematics which are preferred more by boys (Yu, McLellan and Winter, 2021[15]).
Socio-economically disadvantaged students with an immigrant background are more likely to repeat grades than advantaged students, and this could also lead to lower completion rate and furthermore persistent socio-economic inequalities (Box B3.1). According to PISA results, in 38 countries and economies, disadvantaged students were more likely than advantaged students to have repeated a grade in their current level of education, even when the two groups scored similarly in reading (OECD, 2019[16]).
Although enrolment in education is less common among the older population, many countries provide specific programmes that are either dedicated to formal adult education or include adults in existing education programmes. As completing upper secondary education is often essential for successful labour-market participation, upper secondary general adult education programmes provide important opportunities for adults who struggled in their initial education. However, even adults who have an upper secondary qualification may pursue vocational programmes to upskill or reskill in order to get an edge in the labour market.
The share of adult students aged 25 and over among all students at upper secondary level exceeds 20% in Australia, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden, where the majority of these students are enrolled in vocational programmes. Conversely, 18% or more students enrolled in upper secondary general programmes are 25 and over in Costa Rica, Sweden and Türkiye. Notably, in both Costa Rica and Türkiye – the two countries with the highest shares of young adults without upper secondary attainment among OECD countries – a larger share of these older upper secondary students are enrolled in general programmes than vocational ones (Figure B3.5).
Formal adult education programmes at upper secondary level vary from country to country. For example, countries such as Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica and Sweden have dedicated programmes for adults, while others such as Chile, Italy, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Türkiye offer combined programmes that provide both initial and formal adult education. In Sweden, for instance, there are four general education programmes, two of which are tailored to adults seeking to complete their compulsory or upper secondary education. Costa Rica offers five general adult education programmes awarding diplomas upon completion, ensuring flexibility. The Flemish Community of Belgium offers a language programme at upper secondary level, focusing on the teaching of foreign languages and Dutch to non-native speakers, which provides a certificate without direct access to higher education. Türkiye offers one vocational programme at the upper secondary level without age restrictions, accepting anyone with primary or secondary school completion certificates. To effectively promote adult participation in formal education, adaptation strategies tailored to the needs of adult learners are crucial. For instance, France, the French Community of Belgium and Spain have public organisations in their education ministries that ensure the provision of open and distance learning for learners of all ages. Most European countries also offer modularised education programmes, providing flexible learning pathways for adults to achieve their educational goals (Pilz et al., 2017[17]).
In order to promote adult education, countries have put in place governance arrangements and policies to ensure co-operation between stakeholders involved in adult learning. In Iceland, a cross-sectoral co-ordinating body for adult education policies and measures, named the Education and Training Service Centre (ETSC; Fræðslumiðstöð atvinnulífsins), serves as the designated focal point for supporting for the development of adult education, basic skills and second-chance education (Sigurðardóttir et al., 2020[18]).
Countries with a high share of adult students in upper secondary education generally have a higher share of students in vocational programmes than in general programmes (Figure B3.5). This may be because vocational programmes, by offering more part-time involvement, work-based learning and an emphasis on practical skills relevant to chosen careers, provide greater flexibility for adults wanting to participate in formal education.
Women are slightly over-represented among those graduating at upper secondary level, and the share of female graduates ranges from 47% in Germany and Hungary to 56% in Finland. The share has remained stable since 2013, except for Hungary and Poland where the share of women fell by almost 3 percentage points (Table B3.1).
Gender disparities over programme orientation at upper secondary and post-secondary level are wider. On average, women are slightly over-represented among graduates of upper secondary general programmes (55%) and under-represented among those graduating from upper secondary vocational (46%). The share of female upper secondary graduates is higher for general programmes than vocational programmes in all OECD and partner countries except Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom (Figure B3.1).
Many countries have separate pathways for general and vocational programmes, aiming to prepare students to enter higher levels of education or the labour market. While general education aims to develop students’ general knowledge, skills and competencies, often as preparation for higher levels of education, vocational education is designed to give learners the specific knowledge and skills needed for a particular occupation, often involving work-based programmes and apprenticeships (Stronati, 2023[19]).
There are a number of factors behind women’s preference for general over vocational programmes at upper secondary level. Except in Costa Rica, the most common specialism among graduates of vocational programmes is in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, which are traditionally favoured by men. In Estonia, Hungary and Lithuania, where women make up less than 40% of graduates in upper secondary vocational programmes, less than 10% of students pursue fields such as business, administration, law, or health and welfare, which typically attract a higher percentage of female students (Table B3.1).
Gender disparities in the labour market and the pursuit of higher education could also contribute to the gender gap in programme orientation. Although the majority of students opt for upper secondary vocational programmes because they intend to go straight into the labour market, this may not benefit female students as much. Gender differences in earnings among 25-34 year-old workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary qualifications are more pronounced for those with vocational qualifications than general ones. In the United Kingdom, young women working full-time with general qualifications earned 92% of what their male counterparts earned in 2021, while those with vocational qualifications earned only 65% (OECD, 2023[20]). However, in some countries, 25-34 year-old women's relative earnings notably increase with tertiary attainment compared to those with only upper secondary education, with differences exceeding 10 percentage points in Australia, France and Luxembourg (see Chapter A4, Table A4.3). This disparity in labour-market outcomes gives women a greater incentive to enrol in general pathways rather than vocational pathways at upper secondary level, facilitating their continuation to tertiary education.
This box examines how students’ choice of upper secondary programme and their completion rates differ for individuals from potentially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Across OECD countries, there is increasing interest in the development of vocational upper secondary programmes as an alternative for young people seeking to acquire labour-market skills. Research has shown that graduating from a vocational programme positively affects their employability due to their early entry into the labour market (OECD, 2023[20]).
Providing separate vocational pathways facilitates school-to-work transitions while acting as a safety net to prevent students from dropping out of education and increases employment rates among young workers. However, systems that strongly separate general and vocational pathways may reinforce existing social inequities, as advantaged students are often over-represented in general programmes while disadvantaged students are more commonly found in vocational programmes (Stronati, 2023[19]).
Completion rates for vocational education also raise equity concerns. On average across OECD countries and other participants, 82% of students who enter upper secondary education end up graduating (from any programme) within the theoretical duration of the programme plus two years. But students who entered a general upper secondary programme have a higher rate of completion (87% on average) than those who entered in a vocational programme (73%) and this is the case in nearly all countries (OECD, 2023[20]).
Figure B3.6 and Figure B3.7 explore the completion rates of upper secondary programmes within the theoretical duration of programmes plus two years, disaggregated by programme orientation, parents’ educational attainment and students’ immigration background.
In all countries with available data, students whose parents have lower educational attainment have substantially lower completion rates than those whose parents have higher attainment. This discrepancy is often more pronounced among students pursuing general studies. For instance, in Finland, the completion rate for young people in a general programme with a parent with tertiary education is 28 percentage points higher than for those whose parents do not have upper secondary education. This difference is smaller for 15 percentage points for those in vocational programmes. In Iceland, the disparities almost double for general programmes for 44 percentage points compared to 17 percentage points difference for vocational programmes. In Estonia, Slovenia and Sweden, in contrast, although there are substantial differences in completion rates according to the parents’ level of education, there are small differences according to the student’s programme orientation. In Israel, the gap is more pronounced for students in vocational programmes (Figure B3.6).
Being a first- or second-generation immigrant also affects students’ likelihood of completing upper secondary education. In almost all countries with available data, the completion rates of first-generation immigrants (those born outside the country and whose parents were also born in another country, excluding international students) and second-generation immigrants (those born in the country, but whose parents were both born in another country) are lower than those of students without an immigrant background (Figure B3.7).
However, the discrepancy in the completion rates between immigrant and non-immigrant students varies depending on the programme orientation. With the exception of Finland and Iceland, the difference in completion rates between young people with and without an immigrant background is wider for vocational programmes than general ones in the countries that participated in this survey. For instance, in Italy, the completion rate of non-immigrants in a general programme is 34 percentage points higher than that of immigrants of the first generation. This figure decreases to 29 percentage points difference for students enrolled in vocational programmes (Figure B3.7). It is important to note that students from an immigrant background are more likely to study vocational subjects than general subjects (OECD, 2015[21]).
The results show that not only do children from disadvantaged social groups face more barriers to accessing education but that once in education they also perform less well than their more advantaged counterparts. To provide equal opportunities to all children, policy makers need to implement targeted policies to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Adult education is specifically targeted at individuals who are regarded as adults by their society to improve their technical or professional qualifications, further develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge with the purpose to complete a level of formal education, or to acquire, refresh or update their knowledge, skills and competencies in a particular field. This also includes what may be referred to as ‘continuing education’, ‘recurrent education’ or ‘second chance education’.
First-time graduates refer to students who graduated for the first-time at a given level of education during the reference period. Therefore, students who have graduated multiple times over the years are counted as a graduate each year, but as a first-time graduate only once per level of education.
General education programmes are designed to develop learners’ general knowledge, skills and competencies, often to prepare them for other general or vocational education programmes at the same or a higher education level. General education does not prepare people for employment in a particular occupation, trade, or class of occupations or trades.
Parents’ educational attainment refers to the highest level of educational attainment of at least one parent: below upper secondary corresponds to ISCED 2011 Levels 0, 1 and 2, and includes recognised qualifications from ISCED 2011 Level 3 programmes, which are not considered as sufficient for ISCED 2011 Level 3 completion, and without direct access to post-secondary non-tertiary education or tertiary education; upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary corresponds to ISCED 2011 Levels 3 and 4; and tertiary corresponds to ISCED 2011 Levels 5, 6, 7 and 8.
Repeaters are students who enrol in the same grade for a second or further time. Students who participate in a second or further education programme at the same level of education after having successfully completed a first programme are not regarded as repeaters. Repeaters include re-entrants to the same programme.
Students with an immigrant background are students whose mother and father were both born in a country.
The theoretical duration of programmes is the regulatory or common-practice time it takes a full-time student to complete a level of education.
Vocational education and training (VET) programmes prepare participants for direct entry into specific occupations without further training. Successful completion of such programmes leads to a vocational or technical qualification that is relevant to the labour market.
The completion rate is calculated as the number of graduates divided by the number of entrants N or N+2 years before (where N is the theoretical duration of the programme). For more information see Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes.
For more information, please see the OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics (OECD, 2018[22]).
Data refer to the 2021/22 academic year and are based on the UNESCO-Institute of Statistics (UIS)/OECD/Eurostat data collection on education statistics administered by the OECD in 2023. Data for some countries may have a different reference year. For more information see Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes.
The UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) provided data for Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
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[19] Stronati, C. (2023), “The design of upper secondary education across OECD countries: Managing choices, coherence and specialisation”, OECD Education Working Paper, No. 288, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/158101f0-en.
[15] Yu, J., R. McLellan and L. Winter (2021), “Which boys and which girls are falling behind? Linking adolescents’ gender role profiles to motivation, engagement, and achievement”, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 50, pp. 336-352, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01293-z.
Cut-off date for the data: 14 June 2024. Any updates on data and more breakdowns can be found on the OECD Data Explorer (http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4s).
Women as a share of total graduates by level and programme orientation, and distribution of all graduates by field, based on head counts
Note: See under Chapter B3 Tables for Statlink and Box B3.2 for the notes related to this Table.
Note: See under Chapter B3 Tables for Statlink and Box B3.2 for the notes related to this Table.
Note: See under Chapter B3 Tables for Statlink and Box B3.2 for the notes related to this Table.
Completion rate of full-time students, graduating from any programme
Note: See under Chapter B3 Tables for Statlink and Box B3.2 for the notes related to this Table.
1. Year of reference differs from 2013: 2014 for Bulgaria and Ireland; 2015 for Costa Rica and Croatia; and 2016 for the United Kingdom.
2. Year of reference differs from 2022: 2018 for South Africa and 2019 for China.
1. Year of reference differs from 2015: 2014 for Croatia; 2015 for the Netherlands and Sweden; 2016 for Colombia and South Africa; and 2017 for Costa Rica.
2. Enrolment data with a breakdown by age are not available at tertiary level.
3. Year of reference differs from 2022: 2018 for Indonesia; 2020 for India; and 2021 for Argentina and South Africa.
1. Year of reference for repeaters differs from 2015: 2016 for Belgium and Colombia; and 2017 for the United States.
2. Only includes students aged over 24 of the Flemish community of Belgium for vocational and all programmes.
3. Year of reference differs from 2022: 2018 for Indonesia; 2019 for Argentina; 2020 for China and India; and 2021 for South Africa.
4. Year of reference for older students differs from 2013: 2014 for Croatia and 2015 for South Africa.
The data presented in this table only concern initial education programmes so do not include adult education. Completion rates based on true cohort (individual-level). Please note that the year of reference for the data (latest year available) corresponds to a period two years after the theoretical end of the programme. The reference year for students' entry to study may differ depending on the duration of their programme. Parents' educational attainment refers to the highest educational level attained by at least one parent. See Definitions and Methodology sections for more information.
Data and more breakdowns are available on the OECD Data Explorer (http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4s).
Please refer to the Reader's Guide for information concerning symbols for missing data and abbreviations.