TOP 10 Countries by Tertiary Attainment (Age 25–34, 2025)
Where Young Adults Are Most Likely to Hold a Tertiary Degree
Among countries and economies with preliminary 2025 observations in the OECD Data Explorer comparison set, Korea has the highest tertiary-attainment rate among 25–34-year-olds, at 71.1%. Canada ranks second at 67.7%, Japan third at 67.5% and Ireland fourth at 66.8%.
The metric is the percentage of people aged 25–34 whose highest completed level of education is tertiary education. The unit is percent of the same age and sex group, sex is set to total, and higher values rank higher.
Source type: official OECD observed annual data. Coverage: countries and economies with a 2025 observation in the selected OECD Data Explorer comparison set, excluding aggregate rows. Status counts: 10 official_value, 0 calculated_value, 0 official_forecast and 0 modeled_projection.
The table is a compiled research dataset based on 4 sources, with row-level source and method notes shown in the ranking table.
Highest value in the current preliminary OECD 2025 Top 10.
Tenth in the current preliminary OECD comparison-set ranking.
Top 10 from available 2025 OECD Data Explorer country and economy observations.
Preliminary 2025 observations; verified September 19, 2026.
All ten are directly published preliminary OECD observations, not forecasts or modeled projections.
Overview: What Tertiary Attainment Measures
Educational attainment measures the highest level of education a person has successfully completed. It differs from enrolment: a person may have completed tertiary education without currently being a student, while someone currently enrolled has not necessarily completed a tertiary qualification.
Tertiary education corresponds to ISCED 2011 levels 5–8: short-cycle tertiary education, bachelor's or equivalent, master's or equivalent, and doctoral or equivalent education.
Focusing on ages 25–34 highlights relatively recent educational attainment patterns. A ranking for all adults aged 25–64 can differ because it includes older generations whose access to tertiary education may have been different.
This metric does not measure university quality, research strength, graduate skills, earnings, employment outcomes or current tertiary enrolment.
Top 5 Tertiary-Attainment Rates in the OECD 2025 Comparison Set
Korea is the only entry in the current preliminary Top 10 above 70%. Canada and Japan are separated by 0.2 percentage points, while Ireland follows Japan by 0.7 percentage points.
Top 5 preliminary OECD observations for 2025
| Rank | Country | Value | Source / method note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korea | 71.1% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value. |
| 2 | Canada | 67.7% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value. |
| 3 | Japan | 67.5% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary · W flag: includes data from another category. |
| 4 | Ireland | 66.8% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value. |
| 5 | Luxembourg | 62.4% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value. |
Values are ranked directly from the published percentages in descending order.
Chart: Top 10 Tertiary-Attainment Rates in OECD Data, 2025
The chart uses a fixed 0–100% scale, so each bar's width equals the same raw percentage shown in the ranking table.
Methodology
Metric
Percentage of 25–34-year-olds whose highest completed educational attainment is tertiary education.
Unit and Direction
Percent of the population in the same age and sex group; sex is total. Higher percentages rank higher.
Target Year
2025. Earlier observations are not substituted for countries without a 2025 value.
Current Data Status
Preliminary official OECD observations; final latest-year data are scheduled for September 29, 2026.
Ranking Status
10 official_value rows; no calculated values, forecasts or modeled projections.
Source Hierarchy
OECD Data Explorer supplies all ranking values; OECD and SDMX references supply definitions, comparative-statistics standards and status-code interpretation.
Data Selection and Ranking
The primary OECD Data Explorer query is restricted to ages 25–34, sex total, tertiary educational attainment at ISCED 2011 levels 5–8, annual frequency and statistical operation “Observed.” Country and economy rows with a 2025 value are eligible; aggregate rows such as OECD, EU and G20 totals are excluded.
Rank is calculated from the published 2025 percentages in descending order. The displayed one-decimal precision is preserved. No conflicting values are averaged and no missing 2025 value is estimated.
This is a compiled research dataset based on 4 sources. The numeric Top 10 comes exclusively from the tertiary-only OECD Data Explorer selection; the supporting sources document education classifications, international comparison standards and observation-status conventions.
Coverage
The ranking universe is the set of countries and economies with an available 2025 observation in the selected OECD Data Explorer comparison table. It is not a ranking of every country worldwide.
Preliminary Status
Verified September 19, 2026. OECD states that latest-year data are preliminary and schedules the final release for September 29, 2026. Values and ranks should be rechecked after that release.
Japan's W Observation-Status Flag
Japan's 67.5% observation carries the SDMX status code W, meaning “includes data from another category.” The value is retained as the published OECD observation, but the flag should be considered when comparing Japan with observations that do not carry the same status note.
What the Metric Does Not Measure
Tertiary attainment does not directly measure university quality, literacy or numeracy skills, research output, current enrolment, completion speed, graduate earnings, employment rates or the economic return to tertiary education.
This ranking compares completed tertiary qualifications among 25–34-year-olds with available preliminary 2025 OECD observations. It is not a worldwide ranking of all countries and it is not a ranking of overall education-system quality.
Top 10 Countries in the OECD 2025 Tertiary-Attainment Comparison
Preliminary OECD 2025 tertiary-attainment data, ages 25–34
| Rank | Country | Value | Source / method note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korea | 71.1% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
| 2 | Canada | 67.7% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
| 3 | Japan | 67.5% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary · W flag means includes data from another category · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
| 4 | Ireland | 66.8% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
| 5 | Luxembourg | 62.4% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 61.2% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
| 7 | Lithuania | 60.8% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
| 8 | Australia | 58.2% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
| 9 | Norway | 56.8% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
| 10 | Netherlands | 56.1% | official_value · OECD Data Explorer · source year/update: 2026 · target year: 2025 · preliminary observed value · retrieved September 19, 2026. |
The table is a compiled research dataset based on 4 sources. Ranking values come exclusively from the tertiary-education column in the OECD Data Explorer comparison set. Supporting OECD and SDMX sources document definitions, international comparison standards and observation-status conventions.
Insights from the OECD 2025 Ranking
Key Insight
Korea leads at 71.1%, 3.4 percentage points above second-ranked Canada.
Notable Pattern
Canada and Japan are nearly level at 67.7% and 67.5%, a gap of only 0.2 percentage points.
Regional Concentration
Six of the ten ranked entries are in Europe: Ireland, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Norway and the Netherlands.
Outlier
Korea is the only entry in the current preliminary Top 10 above 70%; seven of the ten entries exceed 60%.
What the Ranking Means
A higher rank means a larger share of 25–34-year-olds has successfully completed a tertiary qualification. It does not mean that a larger share is currently enrolled in tertiary education.
Countries can reach similar totals through different qualification structures. One system may have a larger short-cycle tertiary sector, while another may have larger bachelor's or master's cohorts.
This table measures the prevalence of completed tertiary qualifications among 25–34-year-olds with available preliminary 2025 observations in the selected OECD comparison set. Differences in qualification structure, survey coverage and observation-status notes should be considered when interpreting close values.
Download the TOP 10 Countries by Tertiary Attainment (Age 25–34, 2025) dataset
TOP 10 Countries by Tertiary Attainment (Age 25–34, 2025)
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Download Excel + CSV Data PackFAQ
Which country ranks highest for tertiary attainment in the OECD 2025 comparison set?
Korea ranks first at 71.1% among the preliminary 2025 country and economy observations included in this OECD comparison set.
Are these final 2025 data?
No. They are preliminary official OECD observations for 2025. OECD states that final latest-year data will be released on September 29, 2026.
What counts as tertiary education?
Tertiary education corresponds to ISCED 2011 levels 5–8: short-cycle tertiary, bachelor's or equivalent, master's or equivalent, and doctoral or equivalent education.
Are the ranked percentages forecasts or estimates created for this page?
No. All ten percentages are directly published OECD observations. Their preliminary status comes from OECD's latest-year data status, not from a projection model used on this page.
Does this ranking cover every country in the world?
No. It ranks country and economy observations available for 2025 in the selected OECD Data Explorer comparison set. Missing 2025 values are not replaced with earlier observations.
What does the W flag beside Japan mean?
Japan's 67.5% observation carries the SDMX observation-status code W, meaning that the value includes data from another category. The value is retained as published, but the flag should be considered when making close cross-country comparisons.
Why can these values differ from Education at a Glance 2025?
Education at a Glance 2025 used an earlier data cut-off for its published comparison tables. OECD Data Explorer has since been updated with preliminary 2025 observations for this indicator.
Does higher tertiary attainment mean a country has better universities?
No. Attainment measures completed qualifications in the population. It does not directly measure university quality, research performance, learning outcomes or graduate labour-market success.
Sources
OECD Data Explorer — Adults' Educational Attainment Distribution
Primary numeric source for all ranked values. The linked selection is restricted to ages 25–34, sex total, tertiary educational attainment at ISCED 2011 levels 5–8 and the 2025 time period. OECD states that latest-year data are preliminary. Dataset update: July 23, 2026. Ranking retrieval: September 19, 2026.
OECD — Education at a Glance 2025 Reader's Guide
Reference for stable education terminology and ISCED classifications used to explain what tertiary educational attainment covers. It is not used as the numeric source for the 2025 ranking.
OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics 2018
General methodology reference for internationally comparable OECD education statistics, including concepts, standards, definitions, classifications and the interpretation of cross-country education indicators. It is used as background methodology rather than as a source of the 2025 ranking values.
SDMX — Observation Status Concept
Standards reference for the W observation-status code used beside Japan's value. Under the SDMX convention, W means “includes data from another category.”
https://sdmx.org/news/possible-ways-of-implementing-the-observation-status-concept-version-2-0/
