Tertiary Attainment Rate - Bachelor's or higher
Tertiary Attainment Rate - Bachelor's or higher by country
Commentary
Notable countries
The United Arab Emirates leads the ranking at 52.66%, well ahead of the overall mean of 16.4%. Europe dominates the top tier, with Luxembourg and Ireland tied at 41.85%, alongside Switzerland, Lithuania, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Belgium; the United States and Israel also place in the top 10. At the bottom, Burundi has the lowest rate at 0.91%, followed by Niger at 0.97% and Zimbabwe at 1.13%, with the bottom 10 heavily concentrated in Africa; Kiribati at 1.86% is a notable low outlier from Oceania.
Regional trends
Europe has by far the highest continental average at 28.18%, and it is strongly represented among the top-ranked countries. Asia is second at 19.14%, above North America (14.76%), South America (14.5%), and Oceania (12.32), while Africa trails well behind at 5.866%. The gap between Europe and Africa is especially large, pointing to major regional differences in degree attainment among adults aged 25 and older.
Data source
The data come from the World Bank WDI indicator SE.TER.CUAT.BA.ZS and measure the share of the population aged 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher, expressed as a percentage. Coverage includes 175 countries, using data from 2014–2024. As a caveat, the figures may refer to different years within that range rather than a single common year for all countries.
Interpretation
Higher values indicate a larger share of adults with advanced formal education, which generally signals stronger tertiary educational attainment in the population. Lower values mean bachelor's-level attainment remains rare among adults aged 25+. Overall, the data show very wide cross-country and regional disparities: some countries have degree attainment above 40%, while others remain below 2%, so comparisons should be read as a broad snapshot rather than a full explanation of education quality or opportunity.