Table A.1.4
Trends in educational attainment among 25- to 64-year-old population, by highest level of education attained, Canada and jurisdictions, 1997 to 2009

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  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2009/1999
percent average annual growth rate
OECD average1  
Below upper secondary 36 37 37 36 35 33 32 30 30 29 29 28 27 -3.4
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 43 42 42 43 43 45 45 44 44 44 44 44 44 0.9
Tertiary education 21 21 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 27 28 29 30 3.6
Canada2  
Below upper secondary 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 16 15 14 13 13 12 -4.9
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 40 40 40 41 40 40 40 40 39 39 38 38 38 -0.5
Tertiary education 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 2.3
Newfoundland and Labrador  
Below upper secondary 33 33 32 30 29 26 24 25 24 22 21 21 20 -4.6
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 43 43 45 44 44 46 47 47 45 46 44 43 43 -0.5
Tertiary education 24 25 24 26 28 28 29 28 31 32 34 36 37 4.4
Prince Edward Island  
Below upper secondary 31 30 30 27 25 22 22 21 20 19 19 19 17 -5.5
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 37 36 35 37 36 36 34 33 35 37 37 36 35 0.0
Tertiary education 32 34 36 36 39 42 44 46 45 44 45 45 47 2.7
Nova Scotia  
Below upper secondary 27 25 24 23 21 21 19 18 18 18 16 17 16 -4.0
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 41 41 40 40 40 40 39 40 40 39 39 40 38 -0.5
Tertiary education 32 34 36 37 39 39 41 42 42 43 45 44 46 2.5
New Brunswick  
Below upper secondary 28 26 26 25 24 23 21 20 19 19 19 17 16 -4.7
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 40 40 38 38 38 39 41 40 40 39 37 37 38 0.0
Tertiary education 32 34 36 37 38 39 39 40 40 42 44 46 46 2.5
Quebec  
Below upper secondary 27 27 26 25 24 23 21 21 19 18 17 16 16 -4.7
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 37 37 37 37 37 36 37 37 37 37 38 38 38 0.3
Tertiary education 36 37 38 38 40 41 41 42 44 44 45 45 46 1.9
Ontario  
Below upper secondary 20 20 18 17 16 15 14 13 13 12 11 11 11 -4.8
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 37 38 38 38 37 37 36 36 36 35 34 34 33 -1.4
Tertiary education 42 42 44 45 47 48 50 51 51 53 55 55 56 2.4
Manitoba  
Below upper secondary 25 24 24 21 20 19 19 18 17 17 17 16 15 -4.6
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 40 41 40 42 42 41 41 42 42 41 41 41 41 0.2
Tertiary education 35 36 37 37 38 39 41 40 42 42 42 44 44 1.7
Saskatchewan  
Below upper secondary 24 22 22 21 19 18 17 16 15 16 15 14 12 -5.9
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 48 49 48 50 50 50 50 51 50 48 51 51 51 0.6
Tertiary education 28 29 30 30 30 31 33 34 35 36 35 35 37 2.1
Alberta  
Below upper secondary 18 16 16 15 14 14 14 13 12 12 11 11 11 -3.7
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 46 47 47 48 46 46 47 47 45 44 44 43 44 -0.7
Tertiary education 36 37 37 37 40 40 40 40 43 43 44 45 46 2.2
British Columbia  
Below upper secondary 16 16 15 14 13 13 12 11 11 12 11 10 9 -5.0
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 49 47 47 48 47 47 46 46 45 44 44 44 44 -0.7
Tertiary education 35 37 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 45 46 47 2.4
Yukon  
Below upper secondary 18 16 16 17 14 12 15 13 13 16 17 17 18 1.2
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary 41 39 41 39 42 46 42 43 46 45 41 36 33 -2.1
Tertiary education 41 44 43 43 44 41 43 43 41 39 42 48 49 1.3
Northwest Territories  
Below upper secondary .. .. .. .. 21 25 25 24 25 22 21 24r 26 …
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary .. .. .. .. 36 36 35 35 33 31 33 32 30 …
Tertiary education .. .. .. .. 43 39 39 41 42 47 46 44r 44 …
Nunavut  
Below upper secondary … … .. .. .. .. .. 48 50 45 38 43r 45 …
Upper secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary … … .. .. .. .. .. 24 23 24 25 27r 27 …
Tertiary education … … .. .. .. .. .. 28 26 31 37 31r 28 …
.. not available for a specific reference period
... not applicable
r revised
1. The averages for 1997 through 2009 and the average annual growth rates are from Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators, Table A1.4, Trends in educational attainment: 25 to 64 year-olds (1997-2009),which presents the most recent available data for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries for which data were available or could be estimated. Please see the OECD's Web site at www.oecd.org.
2. Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for Canada are derived using the results of the LFS in the provinces; the territories are not included.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (LFS); Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators.