Search for specific education indicators by country, theme or level of education and compare the results using interactive charts and tables.

Base Theme

Survey of Adult Skills 2023 (PIAAC)
PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education
PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During - and From - Disruption
PISA 2022 Results (Volume III): Creative Minds, Creative Schools
PISA 2022 Results (Volume V): Learning Strategies and Attitudes for Life
PISA 2018 Results (Volume IV): Are Students Smart About Money?
PISA 2018 Results (Volume VI): Are Students Ready to Thrive in an Interconnected World?
PISA 2018: Are Students Ready To Take On Environmental Challenges?
Education at a Glance 2024 (EAG 2024): Highlights
EAG 2024, Chapter A: The output of educational institutions and the impact of learning
EAG 2024, Chapter B: Access to education, participation and progression
EAG 2024, Chapter C: Financial resources invested in education
EAG 2024, Chapter D: Teachers, learning environment and organisation of schools
TALIS 2018: Highlight indicators
TALIS 2018 (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners
TALIS 2018 (Volume II): Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals
TALIS 2018 (results for primary and upper secondary)
TALIS 2018: Starting Strong Survey
Student outcomes
Collaborative Problem Solving
Adult competencies
Access & participation
Student mobility
Education attainment
Education system & governance
Financing education
Learning environment
Students' well-being
Equity
Gender
Digital divide
Special needs
Socio-economic status
Migrant background
Economic & social outcomes
Teachers & educators
Education leadership
Evaluation & quality assurance
Future of education and skills
Research & innovation
Early childhood education & care
Vocational education & training (VET)
Tertiary education
Impact of COVID-19 in education
Vocational education & training (VET)
  • Over 40% of students in upper secondary are enrolled in a vocational education and training (VET) programme, on average across OECD countries. However, there are wide variations between countries, ranging from less than 25% of students in Japan and Korea to more than 70% in Czech Republic and Slovenia.
  • Education paths are growing more flexible. On average, almost three quarters of upper secondary vocational students are in programmes that theoretically give them the opportunity to enter tertiary education directly. Usually, this is at a short-cycle tertiary level but in about two-thirds of countries with available data, graduates from upper secondary vocational programmes can go straight into bachelor's or equivalent programmes.
  • Around 30% of all students in upper secondary vocational education are enrolled in combined school- and work-based programmes on average across the OECD. However, wider participation in these programmes providing labour-market advantages is only the case in some countries. While in Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, and Latvia all of VET students are in combined programmes, in 10 out of 26 countries with available data, this is the case for less than one fifth of students.
  • On average across OECD countries, the average age of graduation from upper secondary education is higher for students in vocational education (22.4 years) than for students enrolled in general education (18.5 years). Also average VET graduates age varies in a large range of ages between countries, from more than 33 years old in New Zealand to 16 years old in Colombia.
  • In 2021 women made up around 45% of vocational upper secondary graduates, with wide variations across sectors and occupations. At post-secondary non-tertiary level, around 37% of students graduates from vocational programmes were women, on average across OECD countries.
  • Socioeconomically disadvantaged students are more likely to be enrolled in vocational tracks than advantaged students, although the likelihood reduces from 4.3 to almost three after accounting for student performance. On average across OECD, almost 20% of disadvantaged students are enrolled in VET programmes compared to less than 8% of advantaged students.
  • Adults aged 25 to 64 with only a vocational upper secondary or post secondary non-tertiary education have lower levels of unemployment (5%, OECD average) than those with only a general upper secondary (6%, OECD average). For the younger adults, in 2022 this trend is also true: while 6.5% of 25-34 year olds with a VET upper secondary education are unemployed, this is the case for 8% of young adults with a general education.
  • The most common form of participation in adult learning is non-formal education and training, mostly job related. Slightly more than one in ten 25-64 year-olds participate in non-formal education and training on average across OECD and accession countries with a four-week reference period, of which almost 80% have engaged in at least one job-related learning activity.
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    Canadian provinces
    Chile
    Colombia
    Costa Rica
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    OECD average

    Non-OECD Countries

    G20 average
    TALIS average
    TALIS avg. primary education
    TALIS avg. upper secondary education
    Albania
    Algeria
    Argentina
    Buenos Aires (Argentina)
    Baku (Azerbaijan)
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Brazil
    Brunei Darussalam
    Bulgaria
    Cambodia
    China
    B-S-J-Z (China)
    Hong Kong (China)
    Macao (China)
    Shanghai (China)
    Chinese Taipei
    Croatia
    Dominican Republic
    Ecuador
    El Salvador
    Georgia
    Guatemala
    India
    Indonesia
    Jamaica
    Jordan
    Kazakhstan
    Kosovo
    Lebanon
    North Macedonia
    Malaysia
    Malta
    Moldova
    Mongolia
    Montenegro
    Morocco
    Palestinian Authority
    Panama
    Paraguay
    Peru
    Philippines
    Qatar
    Romania
    Saudi Arabia
    Serbia
    Singapore
    South Africa
    Thailand
    Trinidad and Tobago
    Tunisia
    United Arab Emirates
    Abu Dhabi (UAE)
    Ukraine
    Uruguay
    Uzbekistan
    Viet Nam
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    Note: These values should be interpreted with care since they are influenced by countries' specific contexts and trade-offs. In education, there is often no simple most- or least-efficient model. For instance, the share of private expenditure in education must be read against other measures designed to mitigate inequities, such as loans and grants; longer learning time is an opportunity to convey more and better content to students, but may hinder investments in other important areas. If you want further information on the nature of different variables, please take the time to read the analysis and contextual information, available at the website for each publication.
    The OECD average includes only OECD countries which are listed here: http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/

    Reference years displayed in the Education GPS correspond to the most common year of reference among countries for which data is available on each variable. Data for the latest available year is preferred and some countries may have provided data refering to a more recent or late year. To know more about possible exceptions on data please click on the "Download Indicator" link on each variable. When a year of reference corresponds to a school year encompassing two years, the reference reads as follows: 2018 for school year 2017/2018.

    *TALIS averages are based on all countries participating in the TALIS survey, including partner countries and economies. This explains the difference between the OECD average and the TALIS average. Data from the TALIS survey and Education at a Glance (EAG) may differ. See Annex E of the TALIS technical report and Annex 3 of EAG 2021 for more details about the data collections.

    B-S-J-Z (China) refers to the four PISA-participating provinces/municipalities of the People's Republic of China: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

    For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory text.