TOP 10 Countries by Tertiary Education Attainment (25–64, 2025)
Tertiary education has become a central marker of how prepared societies are for knowledge-intensive jobs. This ranking looks at the share of adults aged 25–64 who have completed tertiary education — typically university degrees, professional colleges or advanced vocational programmes — and how this share differs across generations.
What does “tertiary education attainment” mean in this ranking?
In OECD and World Bank statistics, tertiary education usually includes:
- Bachelor’s and master’s degrees, long-cycle university programmes.
- Short-cycle tertiary programmes (for example higher vocational colleges).
- Doctoral programmes and advanced research degrees.
The attainment rate answers a simple question: “What share of adults in a given age group has completed at least one tertiary programme?” It is therefore a stock measure, different from graduation rates, and reflects education policies and access over several decades.
Who leads the world in tertiary attainment among adults?
Based on OECD and World Bank data around 2023–2024 (projected into 2025), the highest shares of adults 25–64 with tertiary education are found in a group of mostly high-income, knowledge-intensive economies.
An indicative Top 10 includes Canada, Ireland, Korea (Rep.), Luxembourg, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland. In these countries, between 47 % and 63 % of adults 25–64 have completed tertiary education. In other words, tertiary graduates are now the majority of the adult population.
Why look at younger and older generations separately?
A single attainment figure for all adults can hide important dynamics underneath. Breaking the data into younger and older cohorts helps to answer three key questions:
- Is the system still expanding? If 25–34-year-olds have much higher attainment than 55–64-year-olds, the country is in the middle of a strong higher-education expansion.
- Are older workers catching up? Lifelong learning and second-chance pathways can raise attainment in older cohorts over time.
- Is inequality shrinking or persisting? If gaps between cohorts are narrowing, access is becoming more equal; if not, privilege may still be reproducing itself.
The next section turns these ideas into numbers: Table 1 ranks the Top 10 countries by overall tertiary attainment among adults 25–64, while Table 2 contrasts younger and older generations in a set of illustrative countries.
Table 1. Share of adults 25–64 with tertiary education, Top 10 countries, 2025
Approximate share of adults aged 25–64 who have completed tertiary education (ISCED levels 5–8). Values are based on OECD and World Bank series around 2023–2024 and rounded to emphasise broad differences rather than exact precision.
| Rank | Country | Adults 25–64 with tertiary education, % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | ≈ 63 |
| 2 | Ireland | ≈ 60 |
| 3 | Korea (Rep.) | ≈ 57 |
| 4 | Luxembourg | ≈ 56 |
| 5 | United States | ≈ 54 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | ≈ 52 |
| 7 | Australia | ≈ 51 |
| 8 | Netherlands | ≈ 49 |
| 9 | Sweden | ≈ 48 |
| 10 | Finland | ≈ 47 |
Interpretation. In Canada, roughly two out of three adults aged 25–64 now hold a tertiary qualification. Even in countries towards the bottom of this Top 10, nearly half of all adults have completed higher education — far above the global average.
Table 2. Tertiary education attainment by age cohort, selected countries, 2025
Approximate share of adults with tertiary education in four age cohorts. The table contrasts high-attainment leaders (Canada, Korea) with a catching-up country (Poland) and a mid-level performer (Italy), highlighting generational change.
| Country | Age cohort | Adults with tertiary education, % |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 25–34 | ≈ 70 |
| Canada | 35–44 | ≈ 66 |
| Canada | 45–54 | ≈ 60 |
| Canada | 55–64 | ≈ 52 |
| Korea (Rep.) | 25–34 | ≈ 73 |
| Korea (Rep.) | 35–44 | ≈ 61 |
| Korea (Rep.) | 45–54 | ≈ 46 |
| Korea (Rep.) | 55–64 | ≈ 28 |
| Poland | 25–34 | ≈ 50 |
| Poland | 35–44 | ≈ 38 |
| Poland | 45–54 | ≈ 29 |
| Poland | 55–64 | ≈ 19 |
| Italy | 25–34 | ≈ 33 |
| Italy | 35–44 | ≈ 28 |
| Italy | 45–54 | ≈ 22 |
| Italy | 55–64 | ≈ 16 |
Generational pattern. Korea’s trajectory is especially striking: tertiary attainment jumps from roughly 28 % among 55–64-year-olds to over 70 % among 25–34-year-olds — evidence of a rapid mass expansion of higher education. Poland also shows strong catch-up among younger cohorts. Italy’s improvements are visible but more gradual.
Chart 1. Share of adults 25–64 with tertiary education, Top 10 countries, 2025
The bar chart below visualises the ranking from Table 1. It shows how far Canada, Ireland and Korea have moved ahead of the OECD average, and how a broader group of countries — including Luxembourg, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland — have made tertiary education a mainstream experience for adults.
Reading tip. A difference of 10 percentage points in tertiary attainment can represent millions of additional graduates in large countries. Small visual gaps in the bars may therefore hide very large differences in absolute numbers of highly educated adults.
Chart 2. Share of adults 25–34 with tertiary education, 1995–2025, selected countries
The line chart follows tertiary attainment among young adults (25–34) in four countries: Korea, Canada, Poland and Italy. Using stylised but realistic values based on OECD trends, it illustrates different paths towards mass higher education.
Story in the data. Korea moves from relatively modest tertiary attainment among young adults in the mid-1990s to very high levels by 2025. Canada starts from a higher base and continues to climb steadily. Poland experiences a strong acceleration after the 2000s, while Italy shows slower, more incremental growth.
Data sources and methodology
- OECD, Education at a Glance , indicators on educational attainment of adults by age group and education level (ISCED 2011, levels 5–8).
- OECD, OECD.Stat , table “Educational attainment of adults” with breakdowns for age cohorts 25–34, 35–44, 45–54 and 55–64.
- World Bank, Education Statistics (EdStats) DataBank , complementary series on tertiary education attainment and enrolment in tertiary programmes by country.
- National statistical offices and ministries of education (for example Statistics Canada, Statistics Korea, Poland’s Statistics Office and Italy’s ISTAT) for recent updates and methodological notes on population and education surveys.
- OECD documentation on ISCED 2011 and harmonised attainment measures, which ensures that tertiary education levels are comparable across diverse higher-education systems.
