Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general was 68.2% in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
68.2%
Change on year
up 4.4%
World rank
186th
of 205 countries
All-time high
96.8%
in 1974
All-time low
65.4%
in 2017
Years of data
47
1971–2018

Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1971–2018

020406080100197119942018

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recorded 68.2% for share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.4% on the previous year and down 21.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 96.8% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 65.4%, in 2017.

That places United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 186th out of 205 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.

Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general programmes (%) in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1971 to 2018.
Year % Change
1971 96.6%
1972 96.6% +0.0%
1973 96.5% -0.1%
1974 96.8% +0.4%
1975 96.5% -0.3%
1976 96.0% -0.6%
1977 95.7% -0.3%
1978 95.6% -0.0%
1979 95.4% -0.2%
1980 95.5% +0.0%
1981 95.2% -0.2%
1982 94.6% -0.7%
1983 94.0% -0.6%
1984 94.0% +0.1%
1985 92.0% -2.1%
1986 91.7% -0.3%
1987 91.1% -0.7%
1988 90.6% -0.5%
1989 90.2% -0.5%
1990 89.5% -0.8%
1991 88.9% -0.6%
1992 87.6% -1.5%
1993 82.5% -5.8%
1994 80.9% -1.9%
1995 81.5% +0.7%
1996 81.6% +0.1%
1997 82.7% +1.4%
1998 86.6% +4.8%
1999 80.6% -6.9%
2000 80.1% -0.7%
2001 80.4% +0.4%
2002 79.3% -1.4%
2003 80.8% +1.9%
2004 77.1% -4.6%
2005 76.6% -0.5%
2006 81.8% +6.7%
2007 81.4% -0.5%
2008 86.6% +6.5%
2009 87.5% +1.0%
2010 86.8% -0.8%
2011 91.0% +4.9%
2012 90.3% -0.7%
2013 67.9% -24.8%
2014 68.2% +0.4%
2015 70.5% +3.3%
2017 65.4% -7.2%
2018 68.2% +4.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 96.2% 95.4% 96.8% 9
1980s 92.9% 90.2% 95.5% 10
1990s 84.2% 80.6% 89.5% 10
2000s 81.1% 76.6% 87.5% 10
2010s 76.0% 65.4% 91.0% 8

Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

  1. 183 Guatemala 70.9% compare
  2. 184 Slovakia 69.8% compare
  3. 185 New Caledonia 69.2% compare
  4. 187 Italy 67.0% compare
  5. 188 Luxembourg 66.8% compare
  6. 189 Bulgaria 66.5% compare

See the full ranking of 250 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 68.2% in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 96.8% in 1974.
What is the lowest share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 65.4% in 2017.
How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 186th out of 205 countries with data for 2018.
Is share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 21.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general programmes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-all-students-in-secondary-education-enrolled-in-general-programmes-percent/united-kingdom/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general programmes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
250 places, 8,733 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Total number of students enrolled in general programmes at the secondary education level, expressed as a percentage of the total number of students enrolled in all programmes (vocational and general) at the secondary level. General education is designed to develop learners’ general knowledge, skills and competencies and literacy and numeracy skills, often to prepare students for more advanced educational programmes at the same or higher ISCED levels and to lay the foundation for lifelong learning. General educational programmes are typically school- or college-based. General education includes educational programmes that are designed to prepare students for entry into vocational education, but that do not prepare for employment in a particular occupation or trade or class of occupations or trades, nor lead directly to a labour market relevant qualification.