Question reference: S6W-07370
- Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 17 March 2022
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Current status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 31 March 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of people aged 25 to 64 who have been educated at tertiary level in Scotland, and how this compares with (a) England and (b) Wales.
Answer
The OECD provides data on the percentages of populations with tertiary education in OECD countries. Latest data for 2020 show the percentage of the 25-64 year old population in Scotland with tertiary level education is 55.7%. This compares to 43.4% for Wales and 49.4% for the UK as a whole. Data for England on its own is not available though it is for the English Regions, which is set out in the following table.
Percentage of 25-64 year olds with tertiary level education, 2020
Regions of England | % |
North East England | 38.1 |
North West England | 44.0 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 41.4 |
East Midlands | 43.8 |
West Midlands | 43.1 |
East of England | 44.6 |
Greater London | 68.4 |
South East England | 51.8 |
South West England | 47.2 |
Source: OECD Statistics, 2020 |
Of the regions of England, only Greater London has a higher proportion of their 25-64 year old population educated with tertiary level education than Scotland does.
OECD defines tertiary education as comprising International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011) levels 5 (short-cycle tertiary education), 6 (Bachelor’s or equivalent level), 7 (Master’s or equivalent level) and 8 (Doctoral or equivalent level).