Upper Secondary Completion Rate by Country 2023

About This Dataset

This chart ranks countries by the share of the population aged 25 and over that has completed at least upper secondary education in 2023, the equivalent of finishing high school. It measures the educational floor of a society rather than its elite.

✨ AI Insight

Belarus leads with 97.9% of adults having completed upper secondary education, ahead of Armenia on 92.8% and Russia on 92.7%. The defining pattern is unmistakable: eight of the top ten are post-Soviet or former Eastern Bloc states, including Georgia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Czechia and Slovakia. This reflects the Soviet education system's near-universal secondary schooling, a legacy that persists decades after its collapse and outperforms much wealthier Western nations on this specific measure. The United States at 91.5% is the only G7 country in the top ten. The contrast with the degree ranking is instructive: these countries excel at educating everyone to a basic standard, while the bachelor's leaders excel at pushing people further.

Source: World Bank (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Belarus leads with 98 in 2023.

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Average value in 2023: 92 · median: 92.

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Gap in 2023: Belarus is 1.1× larger than Slovakia.