As of 2023, based on data dating back to 2021, Angola was the country worldwide where the lowest share of the population had a higher education of a bachelor's degree or higher. A high number of the countries on the list were located in Sub-Saharan Africa. On the other hand, Montenegro was the country where the highest share of the population had completed a bachelor's degree or more.

Among the OECD countries, Canada had the highest proportion of adults with a tertiary education in 2022. About 63 percent of Canadians had achieved a tertiary education in that year. Japan followed with about 56 percent of the population having completed a tertiary education, while in Ireland the share was roughly 54 percent. In India, on the other hand, less than 13 percent of the adult population had completed a tertiary education in 2022.

Global Tertiary Education Level Attainment by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The average for 2021 based on 165 countries was 72.61 index points. The highest value was in Luxembourg: 422.59 index points and the lowest value was in Turkey: 10.85 index points. The indicator is available from 2017 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Global Tertiary Education Level Employment Rate by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Global Below Upper Secondary Education Level Employment Rate by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The average for 2022 based on 124 countries was 92.43 percent. The highest value was in Gibraltar: 130.58 percent and the lowest value was in Niger: 52.99 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

US: Educational Attainment: Doctoral or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data was reported at 1.364 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.264 % for 2014. US: Educational Attainment: Doctoral or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 1.264 % from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2015, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.364 % in 2015 and a record low of 1.188 % in 2013. US: Educational Attainment: Doctoral or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed Doctoral or equivalent.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; ;

As of 2022, 70 percent of the South Korean population between 25 and 34 had attained a tertiary education, making it the OECD country with the highest proportion of tertiary education graduates. Canada followed with more than two-thirds, while in Japan, the share was around 66 percent. By comparison, roughly 13 percent of South Africans between 25 and 34 had a tertiary education in 2022.

Global Upper Secondary Education Level Attainment by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The average for 2022 based on 117 countries was 1.21 percent. The highest value was in Qatar: 1.79 percent and the lowest value was in Benin: 0.59 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

US: Educational Attainment: At Least Completed Lower Secondary: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data was reported at 95.478 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 95.430 % for 2014. US: Educational Attainment: At Least Completed Lower Secondary: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 94.823 % from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2015, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 95.478 % in 2015 and a record low of 93.014 % in 1980. US: Educational Attainment: At Least Completed Lower Secondary: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed lower secondary education.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; ;

In 2022, Canada had the highest share of adults with a university degree, at over 60 percent of those between the ages of 25 and 64. India had the smallest share of people with a university degree, at 13 percent of the adult population. University around the world Deciding which university to attend can be a difficult decision for some and in today’s world, people are not left wanting for choice. There are thousands of universities around the world, with the highest number found in India and Indonesia. When picking which school to attend, some look to university rankings, where Harvard University in the United States consistently comes in on top. Moving on up One of the major perks of attending university is that it enables people to move up in the world. Getting a good education is generally seen as a giant step along the path to success and opens up doors for future employment. Future earnings potential can be determined by which university one attends, whether by the prestige of the university or the connections that have been made there. For instance, graduates from the Stanford Graduate School of Business can expect to earn around 250,000 U.S. dollars annually.

Nearly 70 percent of the population in Czechia had upper secondary education as their highest education level in 2022, the highest of OECD member countries. Neighboring Slovakia had the second highest share at nearly two thirds of the population between 25 and 64 years. Meanwhile, the share was lowest in Costa Rica, where only 20 percent of the population had achieved an upper secondary education.

Global Adult Population at Tertiary Education Level by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Global Female Tertiary Education Level Attainment by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Women and Men in Spain: Unemployment rate according to levels of education and age in the EU. Annual. National. Nota: UE27_2020: 27 países (desde 2020). UE-28: 28 países (2013-2020).

RS: Educational Attainment: Doctoral or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data was reported at 0.287 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.250 % for 2014. RS: Educational Attainment: Doctoral or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 0.252 % from Dec 2011 (Median) to 2015, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.287 % in 2015 and a record low of 0.242 % in 2013. RS: Educational Attainment: Doctoral or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Serbia – Table RS.World Bank: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed Doctoral or equivalent.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; ;

KZ: Educational Attainment: At Least Completed Post-Secondary: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data was reported at 56.510 % in 2009. This records a decrease from the previous number of 60.792 % for 2007. KZ: Educational Attainment: At Least Completed Post-Secondary: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 48.134 % from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2009, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 60.792 % in 2007 and a record low of 11.700 % in 1989. KZ: Educational Attainment: At Least Completed Post-Secondary: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kazakhstan – Table KZ.World Bank: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed post-secondary non-tertiary education.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; ;

This Cost of International Education dataset compiles detailed financial information for students pursuing higher education abroad. It covers multiple countries, cities, and universities around the world, capturing the full tuition and living expenses spectrum alongside key ancillary costs. With standardized fields such as tuition in USD, living-cost indices, rent, visa fees, insurance, and up-to-date exchange rates, it enables comparative analysis across programs, degree levels, and geographies. Whether you’re a prospective international student mapping out budgets, an educational consultant advising on affordability, or a researcher studying global education economics, this dataset offers a comprehensive foundation for data-driven insights.

Description

Potential Uses

• Budget Planning Prospective students can filter by country, program level, or university to forecast total expenses and compare across destinations.
• Policy Analysis Educational policymakers and NGOs can assess the affordability of international education and design support programs.
• Economic Research Economists can correlate living-cost indices and tuition levels with enrollment rates or student demographics.
• University Benchmarking Institutions can benchmark their fees and ancillary costs against peer universities worldwide.

Notes on Data Collection & Quality

• Currency Conversions All monetary values are unified to USD using contemporaneous exchange rates to facilitate direct comparison.
• Living Cost Index Derived from reputable city-index publications (e.g., Numbeo, Mercer) to standardize disparate cost-of-living metrics.
• Data Currency Exchange rates and fee schedules should be periodically updated to reflect market fluctuations and policy changes.

Feel free to explore, visualize, and extend this dataset for deeper insights into the true cost of studying abroad!