Percentage of population 25+ with at least short-cycle tertiary education (2024)

The United Arab Emirates tops the global rankings for percentage of population 25+ with at least short-cycle tertiary education, recording 55.67% in 2024, followed by Singapore (53.19%) and the United States (49.83%). South Korea (49.56%) and Australia (47.47%) complete the top 5. Saudi Arabia (43.02%) and Switzerland (41.61%) follow close behind. Bahrain (39.83%), Spain (35.41%), and Georgia (33.7%) round out the top ten. The spread across the top ten is substantial: the United Arab Emirates has 1.7× the figure recorded by Georgia (33.7%). Six of the top ten are in Asia, with four from Western Asia. Among these countries, Saudi Arabia saw the largest year-over-year change at +20.5%.