Educational attainment and qualifications
Key indicators
Selected geographical area: Canada
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Percentage of adults aged 25 to 64 with a college or university credential - Canada
(2021 Census of Population)57.5% -
Percentage of adults aged 25 to 64 with a bachelor’s degree or higher - Canada
(2021 Census of Population)32.9%
More educational attainment and qualifications indicators
Selected geographical area: Canada
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Percentage point change in adults aged 25 to 64 with a bachelor’s degree or higher - Canada
(2016 to 2021)4.3(period-to-period change) -
Overqualification rate of immigrants aged 25 to 64 with a degree completed outside Canada - Canada
(2021 Census of Population)25.8% -
Percentage of adults aged 25 to 64 with an apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma - Canada
(2016 Census of Population)10.8% -
22.4%
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Percentage of adults aged 25 to 64 with a bachelor's degree or higher - Canada
(2016 Census of Population)28.5% -
Percentage of men aged 25 to 34 with an apprenticeship certificate - Canada
(2016 Census of Population)7.8% -
Percentage of women aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor's degree or higher - Canada
(2016 Census of Population)40.7%
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- 1. The effect of parents’ education and income on the educational attainment of childhood immigrantsArticles and reports: 36-28-0001202300900002Description: Many immigrants move to countries such as Canada in part to provide better educational and economic opportunities for their children. For its part, Canada also looks to immigrants and their children to provide higher-level skills to the labour market. This paper examines the effect of the mother’s and father’s education on the likelihood of a childhood immigrant who arrived in Canada at age 17 or younger, completing postsecondary education. The paper further determines whether there is significant variation in these relationships among immigrants from different source regions.Release date: 2023-09-27
- Articles and reports: 11F0019M2019024Description:
The educational attainment of the Canadian population has been rising rapidly in recent decades. There is concern that educational expansion has outpaced demand, leading to an increased prevalence of over-education. Over-education is defined as educational qualification that exceeds what is required to adequately perform the job. This study uses census data to document the rising supply of university-educated workers by immigration status from 2001 to 2016. It further examines trends in over-education among university-educated workers who are recent immigrants (those who arrived in Canada 1 to 10 years before the census) and those who are Canadian-born youth (aged 25 to 34). For each population group, this study examines the extent to which the observed trend in over-education status is associated with changes in demographic characteristics and supply and demand factors.
Release date: 2019-12-13 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M2019022Description:
Canada and the United States are two major immigrant destinations with distinct immigration policies. The two countries also differ in immigration level and economy size, but their government structures, economic systems and social environment have many similarities. These similarities and differences provide a useful setting for comparative immigration research. This study compares the differences in the mismatch between the education and occupations of immigrants in Canada and the United States, operationalized by over-education. It further explores how the cross-country differences may be related to the supply of and demand for university-educated immigrants and the way they are selected.
Release date: 2019-12-03 - 4. Over-education and Life Satisfaction among Immigrant and Non-immigrant Workers in Canada ArchivedArticles and reports: 11F0019M2017393Description:
The increased migration of skilled workers globally has led to a focus in the immigration literature on the economic costs of unsuccessful labour market integration. Less attention has been given to the consequences of employment difficulties, such as those related to over-education, on aspects of immigrants’ subjective well-being. Although a large proportion of immigrants experience over-education, studies examining the relationship between over-education and life satisfaction tend to concentrate on the general population. These studies find a negative relationship between over-education and life satisfaction. Since immigrant and Canadian-born (non-immigrant) workers may experience over-education differently, it is important to examine this relationship in both groups. This study examines how over-education is associated with life satisfaction among university-educated immigrant and non-immigrant workers in Canada, and accounts for differences in the degree of over-education in each group.
Release date: 2017-05-05 - Articles and reports: 75-006-X201500114247Description:
This article examines regional differences in the math and reading skills of immigrant children aged 15 based on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It also examines regional differences in high-school and university completion rates among young immigrants who came to Canada before the age of 15 using National Household Survey (NHS) data. Throughout the article, comparisons are made with the children of the Canadian-born (third- or higher-generation Canadians).
Release date: 2015-11-18 - Articles and reports: 11-626-X2012013Geography: CanadaDescription:
This article in the Economic Insights series examines differences in postsecondary-participation rates between students with and without immigrant backgrounds in Switzerland and Canada using a new dataset. It is based on the working paper Immigrant Status, Early Skill Development, and Postsecondary Participation: A Comparison of Canada and Switzerland.
Release date: 2012-07-27 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M2011332Geography: CanadaDescription:
This paper reviews the recent research on the determinants of the educational attainment among the children of immigrants born in Canada and the United States, also known as the second generation. The focus is on the gap in educational attainment between the second and third-and-higher generations (the children of domestic-born parents), as well as the intergenerational transmission of education between immigrants and their children.
On average, the children of immigrants have educational levels significantly above those of their counterparts in Canada with Canadian-born parents. In the U.S., educational levels are roughly the same between these two groups. In both countries, conditional on the educational attainment of the parents and location of residence, the children of immigrants attain higher levels of education than the third-and-higher generations. Parental education and residential location are major determinants of the numerically positive gap in educational attainment between the children of immigrants and the children of Canadian-born or American-born parents. However, even after accounting for these and other demographic background variables, much of the positive gap between the second generation and the third-and-higher generations remains in Canada.
In Canada, parental education is less important as a determinant of educational attainment for the children in immigrant families than for those with Canadian-born parents. Less educated immigrant parents are more likely to see their children attain higher levels of education than are their Canadian-born counterparts.
Outcomes vary significantly by ethnic/source region group in both countries. In the U.S., some second-generation ethnic/source region groups, such as those with Mexican, Puerto Rican and other Central/South American backgrounds, have relatively low levels of education (unadjusted data with no controls). However, conditional on background characteristics, these second-generation groups achieve higher levels than their third-and-higher-generation counterparts. In contrast, in Canada, children of the larger and increasingly numerically important immigrant groups (Chinese, South Asians, Africans, etc.) register superior educational attainment levels to those of the third-and-higher generations. This result is partly related to the high levels of parental education and of group-level 'ethnic capital' among these immigrant groups.
Release date: 2011-02-15 - Articles and reports: 11-008-X201000211335Geography: CanadaDescription:
Women have made substantial gains in education over the last few decades and are now more likely to have a university degree than men. At the same time, the conjugal situation of female university graduates has changed considerably. Using data from the 1981 to 2006 Censuses, this article examines how the propensity to form unions (marriage or common-law) has changed for women with university degrees compared to those without a university education. It also compares the incidence of female university graduates forming unions with similarly educated males over time.
Release date: 2010-09-09 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M2008308Geography: CanadaDescription:
Using the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, this article examines the group differences by national origin in university educational attainment among the children of immigrants in Canada. We found that children of immigrant parents in most source region groups achieve higher university completion rates than children of Canadian-born parents, partly due to higher education levels of their parents. Children of Chinese and Indian immigrants particularly attain higher academic achievements than children of Canadian-born parents. Parental education was also important in explaining the relatively low university completion rates among the second-generation Portuguese.
Release date: 2008-09-22 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M2007299Geography: CanadaDescription:
Whether or not relative rates of assortative marriage have been rising in the affluent democracies has been subject to considerable dispute. First, we show how the conflicting empirical findings that have fueled the debate are frequently an artifact of alternative methodological strategies for answering the question. Then, drawing on comparable census data for Canada and the United States, we examine trends in educational homogamy and intermarriage with log-linear models for all marriages among young adults under 35 over three decades. Our results show that educational homogamy, the tendency of like to marry like, has unambiguously risen in both countries since the 1970s, with no sign of the U-turn in levels of intermarriage reported in some earlier comparative studies. Rising levels of marital homogamy were the result of declining intermarriage at both ends of the educational distribution. However, while trends for men and women were quite similar in Canada, they differed significantly in the United States. The overall rise in marital homogamy In the United States was partially offset by an increased tendency of women with some college education to marry 'down' the educational hierarchy. In Canada, the only sign of abatement in the trend toward greater educational homogamy was a slight increase in intermarriage among university-educated men and women during the 1990s.
Release date: 2007-05-18
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- 1. The effect of parents’ education and income on the educational attainment of childhood immigrantsArticles and reports: 36-28-0001202300900002Description: Many immigrants move to countries such as Canada in part to provide better educational and economic opportunities for their children. For its part, Canada also looks to immigrants and their children to provide higher-level skills to the labour market. This paper examines the effect of the mother’s and father’s education on the likelihood of a childhood immigrant who arrived in Canada at age 17 or younger, completing postsecondary education. The paper further determines whether there is significant variation in these relationships among immigrants from different source regions.Release date: 2023-09-27
- Articles and reports: 11F0019M2019024Description:
The educational attainment of the Canadian population has been rising rapidly in recent decades. There is concern that educational expansion has outpaced demand, leading to an increased prevalence of over-education. Over-education is defined as educational qualification that exceeds what is required to adequately perform the job. This study uses census data to document the rising supply of university-educated workers by immigration status from 2001 to 2016. It further examines trends in over-education among university-educated workers who are recent immigrants (those who arrived in Canada 1 to 10 years before the census) and those who are Canadian-born youth (aged 25 to 34). For each population group, this study examines the extent to which the observed trend in over-education status is associated with changes in demographic characteristics and supply and demand factors.
Release date: 2019-12-13 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M2019022Description:
Canada and the United States are two major immigrant destinations with distinct immigration policies. The two countries also differ in immigration level and economy size, but their government structures, economic systems and social environment have many similarities. These similarities and differences provide a useful setting for comparative immigration research. This study compares the differences in the mismatch between the education and occupations of immigrants in Canada and the United States, operationalized by over-education. It further explores how the cross-country differences may be related to the supply of and demand for university-educated immigrants and the way they are selected.
Release date: 2019-12-03 - 4. Over-education and Life Satisfaction among Immigrant and Non-immigrant Workers in Canada ArchivedArticles and reports: 11F0019M2017393Description:
The increased migration of skilled workers globally has led to a focus in the immigration literature on the economic costs of unsuccessful labour market integration. Less attention has been given to the consequences of employment difficulties, such as those related to over-education, on aspects of immigrants’ subjective well-being. Although a large proportion of immigrants experience over-education, studies examining the relationship between over-education and life satisfaction tend to concentrate on the general population. These studies find a negative relationship between over-education and life satisfaction. Since immigrant and Canadian-born (non-immigrant) workers may experience over-education differently, it is important to examine this relationship in both groups. This study examines how over-education is associated with life satisfaction among university-educated immigrant and non-immigrant workers in Canada, and accounts for differences in the degree of over-education in each group.
Release date: 2017-05-05 - Articles and reports: 75-006-X201500114247Description:
This article examines regional differences in the math and reading skills of immigrant children aged 15 based on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It also examines regional differences in high-school and university completion rates among young immigrants who came to Canada before the age of 15 using National Household Survey (NHS) data. Throughout the article, comparisons are made with the children of the Canadian-born (third- or higher-generation Canadians).
Release date: 2015-11-18 - Articles and reports: 11-626-X2012013Geography: CanadaDescription:
This article in the Economic Insights series examines differences in postsecondary-participation rates between students with and without immigrant backgrounds in Switzerland and Canada using a new dataset. It is based on the working paper Immigrant Status, Early Skill Development, and Postsecondary Participation: A Comparison of Canada and Switzerland.
Release date: 2012-07-27 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M2011332Geography: CanadaDescription:
This paper reviews the recent research on the determinants of the educational attainment among the children of immigrants born in Canada and the United States, also known as the second generation. The focus is on the gap in educational attainment between the second and third-and-higher generations (the children of domestic-born parents), as well as the intergenerational transmission of education between immigrants and their children.
On average, the children of immigrants have educational levels significantly above those of their counterparts in Canada with Canadian-born parents. In the U.S., educational levels are roughly the same between these two groups. In both countries, conditional on the educational attainment of the parents and location of residence, the children of immigrants attain higher levels of education than the third-and-higher generations. Parental education and residential location are major determinants of the numerically positive gap in educational attainment between the children of immigrants and the children of Canadian-born or American-born parents. However, even after accounting for these and other demographic background variables, much of the positive gap between the second generation and the third-and-higher generations remains in Canada.
In Canada, parental education is less important as a determinant of educational attainment for the children in immigrant families than for those with Canadian-born parents. Less educated immigrant parents are more likely to see their children attain higher levels of education than are their Canadian-born counterparts.
Outcomes vary significantly by ethnic/source region group in both countries. In the U.S., some second-generation ethnic/source region groups, such as those with Mexican, Puerto Rican and other Central/South American backgrounds, have relatively low levels of education (unadjusted data with no controls). However, conditional on background characteristics, these second-generation groups achieve higher levels than their third-and-higher-generation counterparts. In contrast, in Canada, children of the larger and increasingly numerically important immigrant groups (Chinese, South Asians, Africans, etc.) register superior educational attainment levels to those of the third-and-higher generations. This result is partly related to the high levels of parental education and of group-level 'ethnic capital' among these immigrant groups.
Release date: 2011-02-15 - Articles and reports: 11-008-X201000211335Geography: CanadaDescription:
Women have made substantial gains in education over the last few decades and are now more likely to have a university degree than men. At the same time, the conjugal situation of female university graduates has changed considerably. Using data from the 1981 to 2006 Censuses, this article examines how the propensity to form unions (marriage or common-law) has changed for women with university degrees compared to those without a university education. It also compares the incidence of female university graduates forming unions with similarly educated males over time.
Release date: 2010-09-09 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M2008308Geography: CanadaDescription:
Using the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, this article examines the group differences by national origin in university educational attainment among the children of immigrants in Canada. We found that children of immigrant parents in most source region groups achieve higher university completion rates than children of Canadian-born parents, partly due to higher education levels of their parents. Children of Chinese and Indian immigrants particularly attain higher academic achievements than children of Canadian-born parents. Parental education was also important in explaining the relatively low university completion rates among the second-generation Portuguese.
Release date: 2008-09-22 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M2007299Geography: CanadaDescription:
Whether or not relative rates of assortative marriage have been rising in the affluent democracies has been subject to considerable dispute. First, we show how the conflicting empirical findings that have fueled the debate are frequently an artifact of alternative methodological strategies for answering the question. Then, drawing on comparable census data for Canada and the United States, we examine trends in educational homogamy and intermarriage with log-linear models for all marriages among young adults under 35 over three decades. Our results show that educational homogamy, the tendency of like to marry like, has unambiguously risen in both countries since the 1970s, with no sign of the U-turn in levels of intermarriage reported in some earlier comparative studies. Rising levels of marital homogamy were the result of declining intermarriage at both ends of the educational distribution. However, while trends for men and women were quite similar in Canada, they differed significantly in the United States. The overall rise in marital homogamy In the United States was partially offset by an increased tendency of women with some college education to marry 'down' the educational hierarchy. In Canada, the only sign of abatement in the trend toward greater educational homogamy was a slight increase in intermarriage among university-educated men and women during the 1990s.
Release date: 2007-05-18
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