160116
statistikk
2014-06-19T10:00:00.000Z
Education
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utniv, Population´s level of education, educational attainment (primary and lower secondary school, upper secondary school), university college/university), educationLevel of education, Education
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Population´s level of education, 1 October 2013

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More women attain tertiary education

The share of women with a tertiary education has increased more than for men. In 1985, 15 per cent of men and 12 per cent of women have a tertiary education. In 2013, the situation is the opposite, and 33 per cent of women and 27 per cent of men have a tertiary education.

Population 16 years and over, by gender, year and level of education. Absolute figures and sharesPublished 19 June 2014
2008 2013
Males Females Males Females
1Includes intermediate level courses based on completed upper secondary level, but which are not accredited as tertiary education
2Tertiary education, short comprises higher education up to 4 years in duration.
3Tertiary education, long comprises higher education more than 4 years in duration.
4People with unknown or no completed education are not included.
Total 1 897 400 1 930 370 2 059 321 2 058 488
Below upper secondary education 539 025 577 710 547 342 555 896
Upper secondary education1 835 940 761 551 879 332 771 151
Tertiary education, short2 315 406 447 783 360 770 526 384
Tertiary education, long3 148 691 93 487 179 403 137 267
Unknown or no completed education 58 338 49 839 92 474 67 790
Shares4
Below upper secondary education 29.3 30.7 27.8 27.9
Upper secondary education1 45.5 40.5 44.7 38.7
Tertiary education, short2 17.2 23.8 18.3 26.4
Tertiary education, long3 8.1 5.0 9.1 6.9

Source: Statistics Norway

Figure 1. Population 16 years and over, by level of education
Figure 2. Percentage of population 16 years and above1, by level of education. 2013
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Figure 1. Population 16 years and over, by level of educationFigure 2. Percentage of population 16 years and above1, by level of education. 2013

The population’s level of education does not change much from year to year, but over a longer timeframe the changes have been substantial. In the period from 1985 to 2013, the increase in women with a tertiary education has been greater than the increase for men. For women, the share has increased by 21 percentage points, while for men the corresponding figure is 12 percentage points. The increase for women has particularly been seen in short tertiary education. As of 1 October 2013, one in four women have a short tertiary education, while in 1985, one out of ten women had a short tertiary education. The share for men with a tertiary education has increased from one out of ten to less than one out of five.

Larger proportion with tertiary education among younger age groups

Among the women aged 30-34 years, the share with a tertiary education is highest. Fifty-six per cent have a tertiary education and 27 per cent have an upper secondary education as their highest education level. Among men, the share with a tertiary education is highest for those aged 35-39 years, where 39 per cent have a tertiary education and 45 per cent have an upper secondary education as their highest education level. This fits well with the student statistics where we have seen an increase in the student figures at universities and college universities. The number of female students in particular has increased, and in recent years there have been more female than male students.

In this period, there have been major changes in the proportion with a lower secondary education as their highest education. In 1985, 46 per cent of the population had lower secondary as their highest education level, but this share decreased to 28 per cent in 2013.The share with upper secondary school as highest education level was stable. This share varied between 41 and 44 per cent of the population.

Every second person in Oslo has a tertiary education

In Oslo, nearly every second person aged 16 years or older attained a tertiary level of education. Oslo has the population with the highest education level among the Norwegian counties. Finnmark and Hedmark still have the greatest proportion with lower secondary school as the highest education level. In Finnmark, 37 per cent of those aged 16 years or older have below upper secondary as their highest education level, while in Hedmark and Nordland the share is 34 per cent. The counties Nordland and Nord-Trøndelag have the lowest share of people with a long tertiary education. In these counties, four per cent have a long tertiary education, while in Oslo 18 per cent have a long tertiary education.

Most people have attained a tertiary education in natural science, vocational and technical subjects

Thirty-two per cent of those who have attained a long tertiary education did so in natural science, vocational and technical subjects. Among men with a long tertiary education, 47 per cent attained a long tertiary education in the field of education. Most women, 23 per cent, attained a long tertiary education in the field of social science and law.

Unknown education excludedOpen and readClose

Persons with an unknown level of education are excluded when calculating proportions for the population’s level of education. Most of those with an unknown level of education are immigrants.