Statistics about

Educational attainment of the population

Educational Attainment of the Population includes residents in Norway as of October 1, aged 16 years or older by the end of the calendar year.

Updated: 11 June 2024

Next update: 11 June 2025

Selected figures from this statistics

Table 1Level of education for persons 16 years and older

Level of education for persons 16 years and older¹
	Total	Total share	Share females	Total	Total share	Share females
	2018			2023
Level of education, in total	4 339 490	100.0	100.0	4 569 268	100.0	100.0
Below upper secondary education	1 111 540	25.8	25.2	1 064 191	23.4	22.4
Upper secondary education	1 603 066	37.2	34.5	1 633 611	35.9	32.6
Tertiary vocational education	125 788	2.9	2.1	147 053	3.2	2.5
Higher education	1 471 135	34.1	38.2	1 700 613	37.4	42.6
Unknown or no completed education	27 961	.	.	23 800	.	.
¹For many immigrants Statistics Norway has no information about their level of education. From 2014, figures include an estimated level of education for missing values for these immigrants. See About the statistics and definitions of education levels. Tertiary vocational education was prior to 2016 included in upper secondary education.

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 09430

StatBank source table 08921

Table 2Age groups and educational attainment

Age groups and educational attainment¹
	Population October 1	Highest completed education
	2023
	Total	Basic school level	Upper secondary education	Tertiary vocational education²	Higher education, short³	Higher education, long⁴
Total	4 569 268	23.4	35.9	3.2	25.4	12.0
16-19 years	263 683	86.2	13.8	0.0	0.0	0.0
20-24 years	333 035	20.7	53.1	1.3	23.8	1.1
25-29 years	367 073	17.6	27.7	3.0	35.8	15.9
30-34 years	395 494	18.5	25.4	3.6	31.9	20.6
35-39 years	380 403	18.6	26.3	3.8	30.1	21.2
40-49 years	718 260	16.5	31.7	3.5	30.3	18.0
50-59 years	744 319	17.4	38.4	4.6	27.4	12.2
60-66 years	441 901	23.5	39.6	4.2	23.7	8.9
67 years or older	925 100	23.1	47.4	2.7	19.7	7.0

Males	2 291 914	24.4	39.3	4.0	20.4	11.9
16-19 years	135 576	88.6	11.4	0.0	0.0	0.0
20-24 years	171 144	24.8	56.6	1.3	16.5	0.8
25-29 years	188 165	20.6	35.1	3.8	27.5	13.0
30-34 years	201 789	21.3	31.5	4.7	24.8	17.6
35-39 years	193 887	21.5	31.8	4.9	23.3	18.5
40-49 years	366 734	18.4	37.5	4.4	23.3	16.4
50-59 years	379 669	18.3	42.1	5.5	21.9	12.1
60-66 years	222 861	22.5	43.0	5.1	19.3	10.1
67 years or older	432 089	20.1	47.2	3.6	18.4	10.7

Females	2 277 354	22.4	32.6	2.5	30.4	12.2
16-19 years	128 107	83.6	16.4	0.0	0.0	0.0
20-24 years	161 891	16.3	49.4	1.4	31.6	1.4
25-29 years	178 908	14.5	19.9	2.0	44.5	19.1
30-34 years	193 705	15.5	19.0	2.5	39.3	23.8
35-39 years	186 516	15.6	20.5	2.7	37.1	24.1
40-49 years	351 526	14.5	25.7	2.7	37.5	19.7
50-59 years	364 650	16.4	34.4	3.8	33.1	12.4
60-66 years	219 040	24.4	36.2	3.4	28.2	7.8
67 years or older	493 011	25.8	47.6	1.9	20.8	3.8
¹For many immigrants SSB has no information about their education. From 2014, figures include an estimated level of education for missing values for these immigrants. See About the statistics for more information.
²Includes intermediate level courses based on completed upper secondary level, but which are not accredited as higher education.
³Higher education, short comprises higher education up to 4 years in duration.
⁴Higher education, long comprises higher education more than 4 years in duration.

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 09430

StatBank source table 09429

Table 3County of residence for educational attainment

County of residence for educational attainment¹
	Total	Below upper secondary education	Upper secondary education	Tertiary vocational education²	Higher education, short³	Higher education, long⁴
	Numbers	Per cent
Males
1985	1 606 112	42.4	43.0		10.0	4.7
1990	1 665 359	38.3	44.8		11.7	5.2
1995	1 701 135	33.3	46.8		14.0	5.8
2000	1 746 270	31.4	46.5		15.3	6.7
2005	1 807 423	30.0	46.0		16.5	7.5
2010	1 956 835	28.6	45.3		17.6	8.5
2015	2 117 010	27.1	44.1		18.7	10.0

2023	2 291 914	24.4	39.3	4.0	20.4	11.9
Viken (2020-2023)	535 675	26.1	38.6	3.3	20.5	11.5
Oslo	297 035	19.9	25.6	2.2	28.4	23.9
Innlandet	158 072	28.6	44.0	4.1	16.6	6.8
Vestfold og Telemark (2020-2023)	178 977	25.7	42.6	4.4	19.2	8.2
Agder	130 245	23.7	43.2	5.0	19.1	9.1
Rogaland	202 202	22.8	42.0	4.6	18.6	11.9
Vestland	269 064	22.4	41.6	4.9	20.0	11.0
Møre og Romsdal	112 880	24.9	43.8	6.1	18.3	6.9
Trøndelag - Trööndelage	201 271	22.8	42.0	3.8	19.4	12.0
Nordland - Nordlánnda	102 494	28.4	42.8	4.7	17.0	7.1
Troms og Finnmark - Romsa ja Finnmárku (2020-2023)	103 918	28.3	39.6	4.9	17.9	9.3
County not stated	81	47.5	7.5	2.5	25.0	17.5

Females
1985	1 673 486	49.1	39.4		10.5	1.0
1990	1 734 109	44.6	41.1		12.9	1.4
1995	1 773 116	39.4	42.4		16.3	2.0
2000	1 812 166	35.9	42.1		19.1	2.9
2005	1 868 445	32.4	41.3		22.3	4.0
2010	1 981 012	29.6	39.9		24.9	5.7
2015	2 104 975	26.7	37.7		27.3	8.3

2023	2 277 354	22.4	32.6	2.5	30.4	12.2
Viken (2020-2023)	533 517	23.5	32.8	2.8	29.7	11.2
Oslo	302 561	17.0	21.7	2.2	34.8	24.3
Innlandet	158 828	25.5	36.9	2.3	28.1	7.2
Vestfold og Telemark (2020-2023)	181 485	24.0	35.8	2.8	29.3	8.1
Agder	130 524	23.3	36.1	2.4	29.5	8.7
Rogaland	197 628	22.4	33.3	2.7	29.7	11.9
Vestland	264 592	21.2	33.4	2.4	31.1	11.8
Møre og Romsdal	109 691	23.4	36.4	2.2	30.1	7.9
Trøndelag - Trööndelage	197 426	21.3	34.3	2.1	30.6	11.7
Nordland - Nordlánnda	100 460	25.9	35.8	2.1	28.1	8.1
Troms og Finnmark - Romsa ja Finnmárku (2020-2023)	100 516	24.2	31.9	2.0	29.9	11.9
County not stated	126	36.5	16.7	1.6	30.2	15.1
¹For many immigrants SSB has no information about their education. From 2014, figures include an estimated level of education for missing values for these immigrants. See About the statistics for more information.
²Includes intermediate level courses based on completed upper secondary level, but which are not accredited as higher education.
³Higher education, short comprises higher education up to 4 years in duration.
⁴Higher education, long comprises higher education more than 4 years in duration.
The table was updated 18 June 2021 at 12:25.

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 09429

StatBank source table 08921

Table 4Districts in Oslo and educational attainment

Districts in Oslo and educational attainment¹
	Numbers	Per cent
	2023
	Total	Below upper secondary education	Upper secondary education	Teritary vocational education²	Higher education
Oslo total	599 402	18.4	23.6	2.2	55.7
Gamle Oslo	54 315	17.9	20.1	2.1	59.9
Grünerløkka	57 309	15.4	19.8	2.2	62.7
Sagene	41 823	13.3	17.3	1.8	67.6
St. Hanshaugen	35 952	12.4	18.3	2.0	67.2
Frogner	55 015	11.4	20.1	2.3	66.3
Ullern	29 167	11.6	20.1	2.6	65.7
Vestre Aker	41 078	11.6	19.6	2.3	66.6
Nordre Aker	43 824	12.7	20.3	2.0	65.0
Bjerke	29 206	23.5	26.5	2.2	47.7
Grorud	23 045	31.6	32.0	2.3	34.1
Stovner	27 514	35.6	33.3	2.0	29.1
Alna	41 031	30.2	31.6	2.3	35.9
Østensjø	41 545	19.8	29.2	2.8	48.2
Nordstrand	43 501	15.7	27.2	2.8	54.3
Søndre Nordstrand	31 116	31.4	29.7	2.0	36.9
Sentrum	1 528	15.1	24.8	2.3	57.9
Marka	1 387	17.8	33.6	2.3	46.3
Unknown urban district Oslo	1 046	44.0	30.6	1.0	24.4
¹For many immigrants SSB has no information about their education. From 2014, figures include an estimated level of education for missing values for these immigrants. See About the statistics for more information
²Includes intermediate level courses based on completed upper secondary level, but which are not accredited as higher education.

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 09434

Table 5Immigrants by country background and educational attainment

Immigrants by country background and educational attainment¹
	Level of education, in total	No completed education	Below upper secondary education	Upper secondary education	Tertiary vokational education²	Higher education, short³	Higher education, long⁴
	2023
Total	844 959	8 928	241 757	236 254	11 828	196 426	149 766
Poland	103 912	73	19 708	50 848	1 043	16 770	15 470
Lithuania	40 160	144	11 059	13 269	312	11 172	4 204
Sweden	35 231	126	4 549	12 463	642	11 694	5 757
Syria	30 480	243	19 525	4 364	222	4 710	1 416
Somalia	26 430	1 550	15 575	5 768	217	2 719	601
Germany	25 432	40	4 861	6 248	315	6 542	7 426
Ukraine	42 639	66	8 724	7 133	751	10 412	15 553
Philippines	23 485	113	5 066	5 536	445	9 231	3 094
Iraq	22 704	491	9 550	5 465	294	5 035	1 869
Eritrea	22 965	281	13 689	6 096	318	2 132	449
Pakistan	22 330	789	8 976	4 449	233	4 799	3 084
Thailand	21 821	558	10 297	5 875	233	3 844	1 014
Iran	19 659	329	4 973	4 417	390	5 019	4 531
Russia	20 526	30	4 185	4 050	382	4 634	7 245
Denmark	18 035	19	2 513	6 361	437	5 184	3 521
Other countries	369 150	4 076	98 507	93 912	5 594	92 529	74 532
¹For many immigrants SSB has no information about their education. From 2014, figures include an estimated level of education for missing values for these immigrants. See About the statistics for more information.
²Includes intermediate level courses based on completed upper secondary level, but which are not accredited as higher education.
³Higher education, short comprises higher education up to 4 years in duration.
⁴Higher education, long comprises higher education more than 4 years in duration.

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 09623

Table 6Reason for immigration and educational attainment

Reason for immigration and educational attainment^{1 2}
	Numbers	Per cent
	2023
	Total	No completed education	Basic school level	Upper secondary education³	Higher education, short⁴	Higher education, long⁵
Sex, reason for immigration and country background
Both sexes	695 735	1.0	30.1	27.2	22.3	18.2
Males	352 784	0.6	31.6	31.4	19.1	16.2
Females	342 951	1.3	28.5	22.9	25.6	20.2

Labour
Total	221 839	0.2	17.5	35.6	23.1	22.6
Europe
Males	134 232	0.2	20.2	45.5	17.7	15.5
Females	56 612	0.1	13.3	25.7	31.0	28.6
Africa
Males	2 736	0.8	23.7	18.9	22.9	32.9
Females	915	0.8	19.6	15.3	28.2	35.0
Asia
Males	13 106	0.5	11.7	8.6	34.1	44.8
Females	4 832	0.5	9.1	10.1	38.4	41.2
North America
Males	1 710	0.2	7.7	5.7	34.5	50.9
Females	1 104	-	7.2	3.5	34.4	54.6
Oceania
Males	936	:	15.2	15.4	34.5	32.4
Females	309	:	8.1	8.1	42.1	39.8
Latin America and the Caribbean
Males	3 231	0.2	17.4	13.5	24.7	43.1
Females	2 116	0.3	18.6	11.3	28.5	40.2

Family
Total	247 169	1.1	35.0	25.9	22.7	14.0
Europe
Males	28 595	0.2	38.0	33.4	16.5	10.5
Females	62 026	0.2	23.0	28.6	24.8	21.8
Africa
Males	14 622	0.9	51.6	25.2	15.8	5.5
Females	20 610	2.5	46.8	24.9	18.4	5.8
Asia
Males	28 902	0.8	42.4	25.3	19.9	10.5
Females	73 817	2.1	37.4	22.3	25.5	11.5
North America
Males	2 099	:	15.5	15.6	38.3	29.7
Females	2 554	0.1	12.5	11.8	38.6	36.1
Oceania
Males	452	-	14.8	23.2	37.4	23.7
Females	305	:	15.1	15.7	42.3	25.2
Latin America and the Caribbean
Males	3 864	0.4	33.4	26.9	20.0	17.5
Females	9 323	0.6	25.2	23.6	25.9	22.5

Refugee
Total	182 778	1.9	43.0	23.0	18.7	11.9
Europe
Males	25 568	0.1	27.2	28.7	21.8	20.3
Females	35 081	0.4	21.9	22.4	25.0	28.6
Africa
Males	27 751	2.3	56.1	23.0	13.1	4.2
Females	19 777	5.7	54.1	24.2	11.9	2.2
Asia
Males	47 706	1.4	51.7	21.3	17.8	6.6
Females	26 177	3.5	48.7	20.6	19.5	6.4
North America
Males	15	-	:	40.0	33.3	:
Females	14	-	35.7	28.6	21.4	:
Oceania
Males	:	:	:	:	:	:
Females	:	:	:	:	:	:
Latin America and the Caribbean
Males	337	:	28.8	22.3	27.0	18.7
Females	348	:	29.0	27.6	24.1	15.2

Education
Total	39 838	0.1	11.0	8.6	31.5	47.5
Europe
Males	5 238	0.1	15.8	9.4	22.1	51.8
Females	10 031	0.1	11.6	8.1	30.7	48.3
Africa
Males	1 904	-	6.0	3.5	27.1	62.5
Females	1 311	:	11.6	8.2	31.7	46.1
Asia
Males	6 318	-	4.5	4.8	29.6	60.4
Females	11 415	0.1	12.0	13.0	40.0	33.1
North America
Males	686	-	17.9	2.6	27.0	52.2
Females	939	:	14.5	3.1	31.6	50.1
Oceania
Males	80	-	15.0	3.8	27.5	53.8
Females	88	-	12.5	5.7	28.4	51.1
Latin America and the Caribbean
Males	762	-	7.3	3.5	19.3	68.5
Females	1 066	:	13.0	9.6	24.4	51.0

Other
Total	4 111	0.6	20.3	20.5	30.4	27.0
Europe
Males	1 263	:	16.6	21.5	31.8	29.1
Females	1 159	:	16.0	19.8	30.5	31.8
Africa
Males	136	2.2	39.0	23.5	23.5	11.0
Females	351	2.3	51.3	24.2	15.7	4.8
Asia
Males	346	1.7	21.1	22.3	32.9	20.8
Females	459	0.9	18.1	21.8	36.6	21.6
North America
Males	96	-	10.4	12.5	34.4	41.7
Females	105	-	6.7	11.4	43.8	38.1
Oceania
Males	33	-	15.2	9.1	33.3	42.4
Females	11	-	:	-	27.3	63.6
Latin America and the Caribbean
Males	58	-	19.0	13.8	22.4	41.4
Females	94	-	17.0	11.7	19.1	51.1
¹For many immigrants SSB has no information about their level of education. 2014 figures includes an estimated level of education for missing values for these immigrants. See About the statistics for more information.
²Very few non-Nordic immigrants resident after 1989 lacks reason for immigration. Unknown reason for immigration is therefore not included in this table.
³Includes intermediate level courses based on completed upper secondary level, but which are not accredited as tertiary education
⁴Higher education, short comprises higher education up to 4 years in duration.
⁵Higher education, long comprises higher education more than 4 years in duration.
The table were updated with figures for 2022 5 June 2023.

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 11291

See all figures from this statisticsWe have more figures for this statistics in the Statbank. Create charts and tables with the figures you need.

About the statistics

The information under «About the statistics» was last updated 23 May 2024.

Definitions of the main concepts and variables

Completed education

Educational activities that are completed at an educational institution during the period in question.

The Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (NUS)

The Norwegian Standard Classification of Education is a 6-digit code system that classifies educational activities by level and field. The level classification is intended to give the best possible notion of the educational system structure in Norway. The 1^st digit indicates the level of education. Furthermore, 2-4 digits indicate detailed field division. The entire six-digits state the specific study programs.

Immigrants

Persons born abroad of two foreign-born parents and four foreign-born grandparents.

Norwegian-born to immigrant parents

Persons born in Norway of two parents born abroad, and in addition have four grandparents born abroad.

Age

Calculated as of December 31.

International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED): The international statistical standard for classification of education

Education level

The definitions of the various educational levels used in the statistics on the Educational Attainment of the Population are as follows:

COMPULSORY SCHOOL LEVEL: Compulsory schooling (in the statistics called 'Below upper secondary education') in Norway is divided into a primary level and a lower secondary level. The primary level consists of grades 1-7 while the lower secondary level consists of grades 8-10. In the statistics, it includes (i)-(iv):

(i) Individuals with educational attainment at only primary level. This information is derived from surveys and implies to a large extent to immigrants who have stated primary level as their highest educational attainment.

NUS-level = 1
ISCED2011-level = 1

(ii) All individuals who complete compulsory schooling, regardless of their results.

NUS2000-level = 2
ISCED2011-level = 2

(iii) From the school-year 1975/1976 up to and including the school-year 1994/1995: All individuals who have completed upper secondary education with a duration of less than two years, i.e. mainly study programs at primary level.

NUS-level = 2
ISCED2011-level = 2

(iv) From the school-year 1995/1996 onwards: All individuals who have completed upper secondary education with a duration of less than three years, i.e. mainly study programs at primary level and upper secondary level-I courses.

NUS-level = 2
ISCED2011-level = 2

UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL: People who have completed both primary and lower secondary education or the equivalent have the right to three years’ full-time upper secondary education, either general theoretical education or vocational education and training. In the statistics, it includes (i)-(iv):

(i) All individuals who have completed upper secondary education prior to 1974/1975, regardless of the education’s length.

NUS-level = 3 and 4
ISCED2011-level = 3

(ii) From the school-year 1975/1976 up to and including the school-year 1994/1995: All individuals who have completed upper secondary education with a duration of two years or more, i.e. mainly upper secondary level-I and level-II courses.

NUS-level = 3 and 4
ISCED2011-level = 3

(iii) From the school-year 1995/1996 onwards: All individuals who have completed upper secondary education with a duration of three years or more, i.e. mainly upper secondary level-II courses/third-year upper secondary courses.

NUS-level = 4
ISCED2011-level = 3

(iv) From the school-year 1998/1999 onwards: All individuals who have obtained less than 120 credits at tertiary level, and who do not have a tertiary vocational education with a duration of less than two years.

NUS-level = 4
ISCED2011-level = 3

TERTIARY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION LEVEL: Includes all individuals who completed tertiary vocational education (both 2-years and 2-years or more), but which are not approved as higher education (i.e. academic tertiary education).

NUS-level = 5
ISCED2011-level = 3, 4 (duration of less than 2 years) and 5 (2 years or more)

HIGHER EDUCATION – undergraduate level:

(i) All individuals who have completed a tertiary education with a duration of up to four years.

NUS-level = 6
ISCED2011-level = 5, 6 and 7 (one-year master’s programs)

(ii) From the academic-year 1998/1999 onwards: All individuals who have obtained 120 credits or more at tertiary level, regardless of obtaining a degree.

NUS-level = 6
ISCED2011-level = 5

HIGHER EDUCATION – postgraduate level:

(i) All individuals who have completed a tertiary education with a duration of more than four years.

NUS-level = 7
ISCED2011-level = 7

(ii) All individuals who have completed a doctoral degree.

NUS-level = 8
ISCED2011-level = 8

Standard classifications

Educational activities are grouped by the Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (NUS) which was established in 1970 by Statistics Norway and later revised in 1973, 1989 and 2000. Educational institutions are classified as being higher education by the Standard Industrial Classification.

For international purposes, ISCED 2011 - The International Standard Classification of Education is used .

Contact

Statistikk innhold

Educational attainment of the population

Selected figures from this statistics

About the statistics

Contact

Anne Marie Rustad Holseter

Beate Bartsch

Andrine Stengrundet

Relatert innhold

Statistikk innhold

Educational attainment of the population

Selected figures from this statistics

About the statistics

Contact

Anne Marie Rustad Holseter

Beate Bartsch

Andrine Stengrundet

Relatert innhold

Analyses, articles and publications

Related statistics

Other websites