OECD (2000)

A
2
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
OF THE ADULT POPULATION
• The level of educational attainment in the population is a commonly used proxy for the stock of
“human capital”. This indicator shows the level of educational attainment of the population. It
serves as a backdrop for comparing current participation and completion rates between
countries.
• The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED-97) is used for the first time to
define the level of education. A new level, post-secondary non-tertiary (level 4), has been
introduced in ISCED-97 to cover programmes that straddle the boundary between upper
secondary and tertiary education.
• In Greece, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Turkey more than half of the population aged
25-64 years have not completed upper secondary education. This proportion is equal to or
exceeds 80 per cent in Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Norway, Switzerland and
the United States.
Chart A2.1.
(1998)
Distribution of the population 25 to 64 years of age by the highest completed level of education
Chart A2.1. Distribution of the population 25 to 64 years of age by the highest completed
level of education (1998)
Post-secondary non-tertiary
%
100
%
100
90
90
80
80
70
70
60
60
50
50
40
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
Below upper secondary
Tertiary-type B
Upper secondary (excluding 3C short programmes)
Tertiary-type A and advanced research programmes
United States
Czech Republic
Germany
Norway 1
Switzerland
Japan
Canada
Denmark
Sweden
Austria 1
New Zealand
Finland 1
Korea
Netherlands
Hungary
France 2
United Kingdom 2 Belgium
Australia
Iceland
Poland
Ireland
Greece 1
Italy
Spain
Mexico
Portugal
Turkey
0
1. Year of reference 1997.
2. Not all ISCED 3 programmes meet minimum requirements for ISCED 3C long programmes. For more information see Annex 3.
Countries are ranked in descending order of the percentage of the population who have completed at least upper secondary education.
Source:
OECD.
© OECD 2000
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