Education at a Glance 2025: Canada
Table of contents
This country note provides an overview of the key characteristics of the education system in Canada based on data from Education at a Glance 2025. In line with this year’s thematic focus, it emphasises tertiary education while also covering other parts of the education system. The data in this note are provided for the latest available year. Readers interested in the reference years for the data should refer to the corresponding tables in Education at a Glance 2025.
Educational inequalities persist across generations. In all countries with available data, young adults (25-34 year-olds) are significantly more likely to attain a tertiary qualification if their parents have also done so. In Canada, 74% of 25-34 year-olds with at least one tertiary-educated parent have also attained a tertiary qualification, compared to only 38% among those whose parents did not complete upper secondary education. This tertiary-attainment gap of 36 percentage points is smaller than the OECD average gap of 44 percentage points (Figure 1).
Survey of Adult Skills, in per cent
Note: The percentage in parentheses represents the share of tertiary-educated parents.
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table A1.4 (available on line).
The share of young adults (25-34 year-olds) without upper secondary attainment continues to decline across the OECD, reaching an average of 13%. This trend also continues in Canada, where the share fell from 6% to 5% between 2019 and 2024.
Individuals with greater educational attainment generally face a lower risk of unemployment and earn higher wages. Completing upper secondary education is particularly important in reducing the risk of unemployment. On average across the OECD, 12.9% of economically active young adults (25-34 year-olds) without an upper secondary qualification are unemployed, compared to 6.9% of those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment. Those who go on to gain a tertiary qualification see a relatively smaller further reduction in unemployment, with 4.9% of tertiary-educated young adults unemployed on average across the OECD. This pattern is similar in Canada (albeit at a higher level): 14.7% of young adults without an upper secondary qualification are unemployed, compared to 8.1% of those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment and 6% of those with tertiary attainment (Figure 2).
In per cent
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table A3.5.
On average, individuals with a master’s or equivalent degree have significantly higher employment rates and earnings than those with a bachelor’s or equivalent degree. However, the share of young adults (25-34 year-olds) attaining a master’s or equivalent qualification varies widely across OECD countries, ranging from 1% to 39% in 2024. In Canada, 14% of 25-34 year-olds hold a master’s or equivalent degree, which is below the OECD average of 16%. This represents an increase since 2019, when the share was 11%.
The average wage gap between individuals (25-64 year-olds) with and without upper secondary educational attainment is relatively modest across OECD countries. On average across the OECD, workers without upper secondary qualifications earn on average 17% less than those who have completed upper secondary education, while workers with tertiary attainment earn 54% more than those with upper secondary attainment. In Canada, the wage gap between workers with and without upper secondary attainment is smaller than the OECD average, at 15%. The gap between those with upper secondary and tertiary attainment is also smaller than the OECD average, at 39%. This suggests a generally more compressed wage distribution by educational attainment in Canada, which may indicate lower relative returns to education but also a lower level of income inequality compared to the OECD average.
In most OECD countries, a significant share of adults have low levels of literacy proficiency, defined as at or below Level 1 (on a scale of 0-5) in the OECD Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Individuals at this level can only understand very short texts with minimal distracting information. In Canada, 20% of 25-64 year-olds have literacy skills at or below Level 1, which is below the OECD average of 27%.
Educational attainment and skills are closely linked, although the strength of this relationship varies across countries. In Canada, tertiary-educated adults score, on average, 27 points higher in literacy proficiency than those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment in the Survey of Adult Skills. This gap is smaller than the OECD average difference of 34 points.
Average literacy scores fell between Cycle 1 (2012-15) and Cycle 2 (2023) of the Survey of Adult Skills1. On average across OECD countries, the fall among adults with tertiary attainment was 9 score points, smaller than the average drop of 19 score points among adults without upper secondary qualifications. In Canada, average literacy scores for adults with tertiary attainment decreased by 2 points (from 290 to 288), while the score for adults without upper secondary attainment decreased by 7 points (from 221 to 214).
In Canada, as in all OECD countries, adults with better literacy skills are more likely to participate in education and training. In 2023, 74% of adults (25-64 year-olds) with high literacy proficiency (i.e. at or above Level 4) in the Survey of Adult Skills participated in formal and/or non-formal education and training in the last year, compared to just 32% of those with proficiency at or below Level 1.
Education systems must adapt to changes in the number of children by expanding or reducing provision accordingly. In many countries, the population of children aged 0-4 changed significantly between 2013 and 2023 and is projected to change further by 2033. Canada experienced a decline of 3% in the number of 0-4 year-olds, and is projected to see a decline of 4% between 2023 and 2033.
Bachelor’s or equivalent programmes are the main entry point into tertiary education in most OECD countries, with an average of 78% of those starting tertiary education for the first time enrolling in such programmes. In Canada, the share is lower at 53%.
Women make up the majority of first-time entrants to tertiary education in most OECD countries. In Canada, they accounted for 54% of first-time entrants in 2023, a share which is unchanged since 2013. Across the OECD, women make up 54% of new entrants on average, the same share as in 2013.
Across the OECD, the two most popular broad fields of study are science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and business, administration, and law, each accounting for 23% of graduates from bachelor’s or equivalent programmes. They are closely followed by the broad field of arts and humanities, social sciences, journalism and information, at 22% of graduates. In Canada, 27% of bachelor’s degree students graduate from a STEM field, 21% from business, administration and law, and 27% from arts and humanities, social sciences, journalism and information.
Completion rates reflect the share of new entrants to bachelor’s programmes who successfully obtain a tertiary degree within specified timeframes. These rates remain low in most OECD countries. In Canada, 46% of new entrants complete their bachelor’s degree within the theoretical duration of the programme. This rises to 69% one year after the expected end date, and to 80% three years after. In comparison, the OECD average completion rate is 43% within the theoretical duration, increasing to 59% after an additional year and 70% after three years.
In all countries, women starting bachelor’s programmes are more likely than their male peers to successfully complete their tertiary studies within the three years after the theoretical end of their programme. In Canada, the gender gap is 7 percentage points (83% for women compared to 76% for men), which is smaller than the OECD average of 12 percentage points.
Completion rates vary by field of study. On average across the OECD, only 58% of new entrants to bachelor’s programmes in STEM fields have graduated at that level in the same field within three years after the expected end of their studies. Completion rates in the field of health and welfare are significantly higher, at 74%. In Canada, STEM completion rates are 56%, lower than those for health and welfare, at 70%.
Students who do not complete their tertiary education may drop out at various stages. High dropout rates in the first year can signal a mismatch between student expectations and the content or demands of their programmes, possibly reflecting a lack of career guidance for prospective students or insufficient support for new entrants. In Canada, the share of first-time entrants in bachelor’s programmes who drop out after the first year is identical to the OECD average, at 13%.
The 2023 completion rate data refers to students whose programme was expected to end in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some countries saw notable increases in completion rates during the pandemic, probably due to policies aimed at facilitating graduation, others experienced moderate declines. In Canada, completion rates of new entrants to bachelor’s programmes during the pandemic decreased slightly, by 1 percentage point compared to three years earlier (from 47% to 46%).
International student mobility in tertiary education continues to rise across the OECD, with some countries experiencing substantial growth in the share of international students between 2018 and 2023. On average, 7.4% of all tertiary students across the OECD were international or foreign students, compared to 6% in 2018. Canada was among the countries with a substantial increase, with the share rising from 13.8% to 21.2% (Figure 3).
In per cent
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table B4.3.
There are significant disparities in how much governments spend each year in education across OECD, partner and accession countries. Canada spends USD 14 381 per student from primary to post-secondary non-tertiary levels, placing it at the middle of the country range, which spans from less than USD 2 000 to more than USD 27 000 (Figure 4).
In equivalent USD converted using PPPs, expenditure on educational institutions
Note: Expenditure at tertiary level includes R&D. Expenditure per student in early childhood education is based on headcounts rather than full-time equivalent students. Expenditure at tertiary level for Luxembourg (USD 54 384) is not shown in the figure.
1. Year of reference differs from 2022.
2. Primary includes pre-primary education.
3. Includes payments by households outside educational institutions.
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table C1.1 and Table C1.2.
In contrast to most other countries, government expenditure in Canada is roughly the same at tertiary level, including research and development (R&D), than at primary to post-secondary non-tertiary levels. Government expenditure in Canada amounts to USD 13 684 per tertiary student compared to the OECD average of USD 15 102.
A large part of the disparity in expenditure per student across OECD, partner and accession countries reflects differences in national income levels. When expenditure is measured as a share of GDP, cross-country differences tend to be smaller, ranging from 2.5% of GDP to 6.9%. In Canada, education investment in primary to tertiary education stands at 5.5% of GDP, which is above the OECD average of 4.7% by this measure.
Although expenditure per student from primary to tertiary levels increased on average across OECD countries between 2015 and 2022 in real terms (from USD 11 955 to USD 13 210), government spending on education declined in relative terms from 10.9% of public budgets to 10.1%. This suggests the relative priority given to education in overall public spending has fallen across the OECD. In Canada, expenditure per student increased from USD 14 689 to USD 15 436, while the share devoted to education decreased from 11.6% of public budgets to 10.4% over this period.
Some countries impose significantly higher tuition fees on foreign students at master’s level in public institutions, including Canada. In Canada, average annual tuition fees for foreign students at master’s level are USD 20 876 on average, which is well above the fees charged to national students (USD 9 564).
The amount of compulsory instruction time affects teacher salary costs as it influences the number of teachers needed, combined with other factors such as class size and teaching time of teachers. In Canada, students receive 921 hours of compulsory instruction per year in primary education and 924 hours in lower secondary education. This is above the OECD average of 804 hours in primary and 909 hours in lower secondary education.
For more information on Education at a Glance 2025 and to access the full set of indicators, see: https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en.
For more information on the methodology used during the data collection for each indicator, the references to the sources and the specific notes for each country, see Education at a Glance 2025: Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes, https://doi.org/10.1787/fcfaf2d1-en.
For general information on the methodology, please refer to the OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics 2018, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304444-en.
Updated data can be found on line at http://data-explorer.oecd.org/ and by following the StatLinks in the publication.
Explore, compare and visualise more data and analysis using the Education GPS: https://gpseducation.oecd.org/.
Questions can be directed to the Education at a Glance team at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills: EDU.EAG@oecd.org.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
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The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
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← 1. Does not include adults who in Cycle 2 were only administered the doorstep interview due to a language barrier.