Highest level of education in Oslo

Published:

In 2016, half of the population in Oslo aged 16 years and over had a higher education. As a national average, 33 per cent had attained an education at this level.

In 2006, 26 per cent had attained a higher education in Norway, compared to 28 per cent in 2010. For residents in Oslo, 41 per cent had an education at this level in 2006. This increased to 45 per cent in 2010 and 50 per cent in 2016.

Four counties were above the national average for the population aged 16 years and over with a higher education. Half of the population in Oslo had attained a higher education, followed by Akershus (37.5 per cent), Sør-Trøndelag (35.1) and Hordaland (33.8).

At the other end of the scale, in the four counties Hedmark, Oppland, Østfold and Nordland, 25 per cent had attained a higher education in 2016.

Figure 1. Proportion of the population aged 16 years and older with higher education in Norwegian counties. Per cent. 2016

Proportion with higher education Proportion with higher education
Hedmark 25.2
Oppland 25.3
Østfold 25.4
Nordland 25.6
Telemark 26.0
Nord-Trøndelag 26.0
Finnmark - Finnmárku 27.0
Sogn og Fjordane 27.2
Møre og Romsdal 27.2
Aust-Agder 28.3
Vest-Agder 29.3
Buskerud 29.4
Vestfold 29.6
Troms - Romsa 31.5
Rogaland 31.9
Country average 32.9
Hordaland 33.8
Sør-Trøndelag 35.1
Akershus 37.5
Oslo 49.9

Highest level of education among women in all counties

In all counties, more women than men had a higher education in 2016. For women aged 16 years and over, 37 per cent had attained an education at this level, compared to 29 of men – as a national average.

The largest gender disparity was in Finnmark, where 34 per cent of the women had attained a higher education, compared to 20 per cent of the men. Sogn og Fjordane, Nord-Trøndelag and Troms also had gender disparities of more than 10 percentage points.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Educational attainment of the population, 1 October 2016