Foreword
Governments are increasingly looking to international comparisons of education systems as they develop policies to enhance individuals’ social and economic prospects, provide incentives for greater efficiency in schooling, and help to mobilise resources to meet rising demands. The OECD Directorate for Education and Skills contributes to these efforts by developing and analysing quantitative, internationally comparable indicators that it publishes annually in Education at a Glance. Together with OECD policy work, these indicators assist governments in building more effective and equitable education systems. Beyond government officials, Education at a Glance also aims to support researchers with data for further analysis and help the general public understand how their countries’ education systems compare internationally.
Education at a Glance is the product of a long-standing, collaborative effort between OECD governments, the experts and institutions working within the framework of the OECD Indicators of Education Systems (INES) programme, and the OECD Secretariat. It was prepared within the Innovation and Measuring Progress Division of the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills under the responsibility of Edmund Misson. The production of Education at a Glance 2025 was led by Abel Schumann and contains statistical and analytical contributions from Étienne Albiser, Maria Paula Caldas, Éric Charbonnier, Sophia de Berardinis, Darien Dinaro, Carsten Dolle, Sofía Gómez, Jaione González Yubero, Yanjun Guo, Corinne Heckmann, Viktoria Kis, Qi Kuang, Erika Lee, Bernardo Mayorga, Mara Merca, Alberto Naretto, Simon Normandeau, Maïa Pécaut, Giannina Rech, Gara Rojas González, Özge Özcan Sahin, Giovanni Maria Semeraro, Choyi Whang and Hajar Sabrina Yassine. Administrative support was provided by Ameline Besin and Spencer Matthews. Rachel Linden supported the editorial and production process. The development of the publication was steered by INES member countries through the INES Working Party and facilitated by the INES networks. The members of the various bodies as well as the individual experts who have contributed to this publication and to the INES programme more generally are listed at the end of this publication.
INES member countries and the OECD continue to strive to provide internationally comparable data to meet policy needs. The OECD will develop new indicators where this is feasible and will work to advance in areas where conceptual progress is needed before indicators can be produced. This effort takes place not only within the INES Programme, but also in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), as well as in the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS).
Editorial
The transition to a more digital and knowledge-intensive economy is increasing demand for advanced skills and higher qualifications across the OECD as well as partner countries. This demand will continue to grow as population aging leads to skills shortages.
In response, educational attainment is at an all-time high, with 48% of young adults in OECD countries now completing tertiary education – up from just 27% in 2000. These graduates tend to enjoy higher earnings, more stable employment, better health and greater civic participation.
Although tertiary graduates demonstrate higher skill levels on average, as measured by the OECD Survey of Adult Skills, holding a tertiary qualification does not always equate to strong skills. Across the 29 OECD countries and economies covered, 13% of tertiary-educated adults failed to reach even the baseline literacy proficiency level in 2023, meaning they could understand only short texts on familiar topics. This illustrates the need for countries to both expand tertiary access, and raise the quality and relevance of the education provided.
Low tertiary completion rates are another challenge that undermine the return on public investment, deepen skills shortages and limit access to opportunities. Across 32 OECD and partner countries, only 43% of bachelor’s students graduate on time, rising to just 70% within three additional years, with relatively lower rates among men (63% compared to 75% for women). Policy interventions to improve completion rates can include strengthening academic preparation and career guidance in secondary education, as well as designing tertiary programmes with clearly defined course sequences and support measures for those at risk of falling behind.
More inclusive and flexible tertiary educational options are also needed. These should include tailored programmes for vocational students, admissions processes that better recognise diverse learner profiles, and shorter, targeted offerings such as microcredentials.
The impact of family educational background on tertiary attainment has remained persistent over the past decade. In 2012, just 23% of young adults whose parents had not completed upper secondary education attained a tertiary degree, compared to 65% of those with at least one tertiary-educated parent. This gap remained significant in 2023: only 26% of young adults from families with lower educational attainment had completed tertiary education, compared to around 70% from highly educated households.
Some countries show that this dynamic can be reversed. Denmark, England and Belgium’s Flemish Community have managed to shrink the divide in achieving tertiary education through targeted interventions.1
In primary and secondary education, socio-economic status also continues to play a significant role in academic achievement - accounting for 20% or more of the variation in maths scores in some countries, according to PISA data. To prevent these disparities from deepening, disadvantaged students and schools require further support. Persistent teacher shortages disproportionately affect disadvantaged learners and should also be addressed.
The OECD recommends a comprehensive approach to ensuring equality of opportunity across all levels of education, as we increase both enrolment and quality to meet pressing skills needs. This begins with strong early childhood education systems, which are associated with better academic performance, and better outcomes for people, our societies and our economies.
1The magnitude of this change is subject to larger statistical uncertainty than other estimates in the report due to small sample sizes.
Mathias Cormann,
OECD Secretary-General
EDUCATION AT A GLANCE 2025 © OECD 2025