Who has a higher education?

Click any country to see the share of its adults who have completed tertiary (university-level) education.

or click the map

Tertiary education

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No data

Global average

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Highest

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Lowest

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Overview

Tertiary education — university and college — has expanded rapidly, but very unevenly. This map shows the share of each country's adults who have completed a higher-education qualification.

Key facts

The most-educated countries have over 50% of adults with tertiary qualifications.
In many low-income countries the share is under 5%.
Tertiary attainment has grown fastest in East Asia.

Common questions

What counts as tertiary education?

University or college-level education beyond secondary school, including bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and equivalent qualifications.

Why does it vary so much?

Access to higher education depends on income, the size of the university system and how many finish secondary school — all of which differ hugely between countries.

Where does the data come from?

Educational attainment datasets compiled via Our World in Data.

Sources & methodology

Data from Our World in Data, compiled via Our World in Data. Global figures are population-weighted across the countries that report this measure; countries without reliable recent data are shown as “no data”.

Last updated: 3 August 2026.