1.2013Education at a Glance 2013OECD indicators

2. Education at a Glance2013OECD indicators 3. The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The useofsuch data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlementsin the West Bank under the terms of international law.Photo credits:Stocklib Image Bank Cathy YeuletFotolia.com Feng YuGetty Images blue jean images OECD 2013You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databasesand multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitableacknowledgement of OECD as source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rightsshould be submitted to rights@oecd.org. Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial useshall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at info@copyright.com or the Centre franais dexploitation du droitde copie (CFC) at contact@cfcopies.com.This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD.The opinionsexpressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views ofthe Organisation or of the governments of its member countries.This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of orsovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundariesand to the name of any territory, city or area.Please cite this publication as:OECD (2013), Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing.http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2013-enISBN 978-92-64-20104-0 (print)ISBN 978-92-64-20105-7 (PDF) 4. Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 3ForewordGovernments are paying increasing attention to international comparisons as they search for effective policiesthat enhance individuals social and economic prospects, provide incentives for greater efficiency in schooling,and help to mobilise resources to meet rising demands. As part of its response, the OECD Directorate forEducation and Skills devotes a major effort to the development and analysis of the quantitative, internationallycomparable indicators that it publishes annually in Education at a Glance. These indicators enable educationalpolicy makers and practitioners alike to see their education systems in light of other countries performanceand, together with the OECD country policy reviews, are designed to support and review the efforts thatgovernments are making towards policy reform.Education at a Glance addresses the needs of a range of users, from governments seeking to learn policy lessonsto academics requiring data for further analysis to the general public wanting to monitor how its countrysschools are progressing in producing world-class students. The publication examines the quality of learningoutcomes, the policy levers and contextual factors that shape these outcomes, and the broader private andsocial returns that accrue to investments in education.Education at a Glance is the product of a long-standing, collaborative effort between OECD governments,the experts and institutions working within the framework of the OECD Indicators of Education Systems(INES) programme and the OECD Secretariat. The publication was prepared by the staff of the Innovationand Measuring Progress Division of the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, under the responsibilityof DirkVanDamme and Corinne Heckmann and in co-operation with EtienneAlbiser, SimoneBloem,RodrigoCastaneda-Valle, EricCharbonnier, Estelle Herbaut, Karinne Logez, KojiMiyamoto, Joris Ranchin,Cuauhtemoc Rebolledo-Gomez, Gara Rojas Gonzlez, DavidValenciano, and Jean Yip. Administrative supportwas provided by Rhodia Diallo, editing of the report was undertaken by MarilynAchiron, and additionaladvice as well as analytical and editorial support were provided by GwenaelleBarach, MarikaBoiron,Clia BragaSchich, Elizabeth Del Bourgo, Caroline Isral, Diane Lalancette and Ignacio Marin. Theauthoring team benefited from the analytical review of SamAbrams, Francesco Avvisati, Tracey Burns,SoniaGuerriero, Hiroko Ikesako, David Istance, Marco Kools, KatarzynaKubacka, Pauline Musset, Anna Pons,MihoTaguma, Willam Thorn, Juliana Zapata and Pablo Zoido. Production of the report was coordinatedby ElisabethVilloutreix. The development of the publication was steered by member countries through theINES Working Party and facilitated by the INESNetworks. The members of the various bodies as well as theindividual experts who have contributed to this publication and to OECD INES more generally are listed atthe end of the book.While much progress has been accomplished in recent years, member countries and the OECD continue to striveto strengthen the link between policy needs and the best available internationally comparable data. This presentsvarious challenges and trade-offs. First, the indicators need to respond to educational issues that are high onnational policy agendas, and where the international comparative perspective can offer important added valueto what can be accomplished through national analysis and evaluation. Second, while the indicators should be ascomparable as possible, they also need to be as country-specific as is necessary to allow for historical, systemicand cultural differences between countries. Third, the indicators need to be presented in as straightforward amanner as possible, while remaining sufficiently complex to reflect multi-faceted educational realities. Fourth,there is a general desire to keep the indicator set as small as possible, but it needs to be large enough to be usefulto policy makers across countries that face different educational challenges. 5. ForewordEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 20134The OECD will continue to address these challenges vigorously and to pursue not just the development ofindicators in areas where it is feasible and promising to develop data, but also to advance in areas wherea considerable investment still needs to be made in conceptual work. The further development of theOECDProgramme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and its extension through the OECD Surveyof Adult Skills, a product of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC),as well as the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), are major efforts to this end. 6. Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 5Table of ContentsNumber ofthe indicatorin the2012 editionEditorial......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 17Readers Guide..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21Chapter A The output of Educational institutions and the impact of learning................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25Indicator A1 To what level have adults studied?.................................................................................................................................... 26Table A1.1a Educational attainment of 25-64 year-olds (2011).........................................................................................35Table A1.2a Percentage of the population that has attained at least upper secondary education, by age group (2011)....................................................................................................................................................36Table A1.3a Percentage of the population that has attained tertiary education, by type of programme and age group (2011)...........................................................................................................37Table A1.4a Trends in educational attainment, by age group, and average annual growth rate (2000-11)..............................................................................................................................................................................38Table A1.5a Educational attainment of 25-64 year-olds, by programme orientation and gender (2011)..........................................................................................................................................................................................40Indicator A2 How many students are expected to complete upper secondary education?........ 42Table A2.1a Upper secondary graduation rates and average ages (2011)..............................................................50Table A2.1b Upper secondary graduation rates for students under 25 (2011)...................................................51Table A2.2a Trends in first-time graduation rates at upper secondary level (1995-2011)..................52Table A2.3a Distribution of upper secondary vocational graduates, by field of education and gender (2011)..........................................................................................................................................................................................53Indicator A3 How many students are expected to complete tertiary education?............................... 54Table A3.1a Tertiary graduation rates and average ages (2011)..........................................................................................61Table A3.1b Tertiary graduation rates among students under the typical age at graduation (2011)...................................................................................................................................................................................62Table A3.2a Trends in tertiary graduation rates (1995-2011)...............................................................................................63Indicator A4 How many students complete tertiary education?.................................................................................. 64Table A4.1 Completion rates in tertiary education (2011)......................................................................................................71Table A4.2 Completion rates in tertiary-type A education, by status of enrolment (2011)....................................................................................................................................................................................72Indicator A5 How does educational attainment affect participation in the labour market? .......................................................................................................................................................................... 74Table A5.1a Employment rates among 25-64 year-olds, by educational attainment (2011)..........................................................................................................................................................................................86A1A2A3A7 7. Table of ContentsEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 20136Number ofthe indicatorin the2012 editionTable A5.1b Employment rates among 25-64 year-olds, by educational attainment and gender (2011)..........................................................................................................................................................................................87Table A5.2a Unemployment rates among 25-64 year olds, by educational attainment (2011)..........................................................................................................................................................................................89Table A5.2b Unemployment rates among 25-64 year-olds, by educational attainment and gender (2011)..........................................................................................................................................................................................90Table A5.3a Employment rates, by educational attainment and age group (2000, 2005, 2008 and 2011).........................................................................................................................................................92Table A5.4a Unemployment rates, by educational attainment and age group (2000, 2005, 2008 and 2011).........................................................................................................................................................94Table A5.5a Labour market status among 25-64 year-olds, by educational attainment and programme orientation (2011).......................................................................................................................................96Table A5.6 Proportion of full-time, full-year earners among all earners, by educational attainment and age group (2011).............................................................................................................................................97Indicator A6 What are the earnings premiums from education?.............................................................................100Table A6.1 Relative earnings of adults with income from employment, by educational attainment, gender and age group (2011)...................................................................................................................111Table A6.2a Trends in relative earnings of 25-64 year-olds with income from employment, by educational attainment (2000-11).............................................................................................................................113Table A6.2b Trends in relative earnings of 25-64 year-old men with income from employment, by educational attainment (2000-11).............................................................................................................................115Table A6.2c Trends in relative earnings of 25-64 year-old women with income from employment, by educational attainment (2000-11).................................................................117Table A6.3a Differences in earnings between women and men, by educational attainment and age group (2011)..............................................................................................................................................................................119Table A6.3b Trends in the differences in earnings between 25-64 year-old women and men, by educational attainment (2000-11).............................................................................................................................120Table A6.5a Relative earnings of 15-24 year-old students, by educational attainment and gender (2011)......................................................................................................................................................................................122Table A6.5b Share of young adults with income from employment among all young adults, by gender, age group and student status (2011).............................................................................................124Indicator A7 What are the incentives to invest in education?......................................................................................126Table A7.1a Private costs and benefits for a man attaining upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education (2009)...................................................................................................................................................140Table A7.1b Private costs and benefits for a woman attaining upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education (2009)........................................................................................141Table A7.2a Public costs and benefits for a man attaining upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education (2009)....................................................................................................................................................142Table A7.2b Public costs and benefits for a woman attaining upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education (2009)..........................................................................................143Table A7.3a Private costs and benefits for a man attaining tertiary education (2009)..................144A9A8 8. Table of ContentsEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 7Number ofthe indicatorin the2012 editionTable A7.3b Private costs and benefits for a woman attaining tertiary education (2009).........145Table A7.4a Public costs and benefits for a man attaining tertiary education (2009).....................146Table A7.4b Public costs and benefits for a woman attaining tertiary education (2009)............147Indicator A8 What are the social outcomes of education?..................................................................................................148Table A8.1 Proportion of obese adults, by level of educational attainment and gender (2011)......................................................................................................................................................................................154Table A8.2 Proportion of adults who smoke, by level of educational attainment and gender (2011)......................................................................................................................................................................................155Table A8.3 Percentage-point differences in the likelihood of being obese associated with an increase in the level of educational attainment (2011)................................................156Table A8.4 Percentage-point differences in the likelihood of smoking associated with an increase in the level of educational attainment (2011)................................................157Chapter B Financial and Human Resources Invested in Education...............159Indicator B1 How much is spent per student?......................................................................................................................................162Table B1.1a Annual expenditure per student by educational institutions for all services (2010).............................................................................................................................................................................174Table B1.2 Annual expenditure per student by educational institutions for core services, ancillary services and R&D (2010)......................................................................................................................................175Table B1.3a Cumulative expenditure per student by educational institutions for all services over the average duration of tertiary studies (2010)................................................................................176Table B1.4 Annual expenditure per student by educational institutions for all services, relative to GDP per capita (2010).........................................................................................................................................177Table B1.5a Change in expenditure per student by educational institutions for all services, relative to different factors, at the primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary levels of education (1995, 2000, 2005, 2010)............................................................178Table B1.5b Change in expenditure per student by educational institutions for all services, relative to different factors, at the tertiary level of education (1995, 2000, 2005, 2010)................................................................................................................................................................179Table B1.6 Annual expenditure per student by educational institutions for all services, by type of programme, at the secondary level (2010)..............................................................................180Indicator B2 What proportion of national wealth is spent on education?................................................182Table B2.1 Expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP, by level of education (1995, 2000, 2005, 2010)...............................................................................................191Table B2.2 Expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP, by level of education (2010).........................................................................................................................................................192Table B2.3 Expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP, by source of fund and level of education (2010)..............................................................................................193Table B2.4 Expenditure on educational institutions, by service category, as a percentage of GDP (2010)..................................................................................................................................................194Table B2.5 Change in public expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP (2008, 2009, 2010)............................................................................................................................................................195B1A11B2 9. Table of ContentsEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 20138Number ofthe indicatorin the2012 editionIndicator B3 How much public and private investment in education is there?.................................196Table B3.1 Relative proportions of public and private expenditure on educational institutions for all levels of education (2000, 2010)..................................................................................205Table B3.2a Relative proportions of public and private expenditure on educational institutions, by level of education (2000, 2010)..............................................................................................206Table B3.2b Relative proportions of public and private expenditure on educational institutions, for tertiary education (2000, 2010)..........................................................................................207Table B3.3 Trends in relative proportions of public expenditure on educational institutions and index of change between 1995 and 2010, for tertiary education..............................208Table B3.4 Annual public expenditure on educational institutions per student, by type of institution (2010).......................................................................................................................................................209Indicator B4 What is the total public spending on education?....................................................................................210Table B4.1 Total public expenditure on education (2010)...................................................................................................218Table B4.2 Total public expenditure on education (1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010).............................219Table B4.3 Sources of public educational funds, for primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education, by level of government (2010).......................................................................220Indicator B5 How much do tertiary students pay and what public support do they receive?...........................................................................................................................................................................................222Table B5.1 Estimated annual average tuition fees charged by tertiary-type A educational institution for national students (2011)....................................................................................................................232Table B5.2 Distribution of financial aid to students compared to amount of tuition fees charged in tertiary-type A education, national students and first degree programmes (2011)..................................................................................................................................................................................234Table B5.3 Average tuition fees charged by institutions, by field of education (2011)...............235Table B5.4 Public support for households and other private entities as a percentage of total public expenditure on education and GDP, for tertiary education (2010) ................236Indicator B6 On what resources and services is education funding spent?.............................................238Indicator B7 Which factors influence the level of expenditure on education?...................................240Table B7.1 Salary cost of teachers per student, by level of education (2011)...........................................250Table B7.2a Factors used to compute the salary cost of teachers per student, in primary education (2000, 2005 and 2011).....................................................................................................251Table B7.2b Factors used to compute the salary cost of teachers per student, in lower secondary education (2000, 2005, 2011).......................................................................................253Table B7.3 Contribution of various factors to salary cost of teachers per student, in primary education (2000, 2005 and 2011).....................................................................................................255Table B7.4a Contribution of various factors to salary cost of teachers per student, in lower secondary education (2000, 2005 and 2011)............................................................................256Table B7.5a Contribution of various factors to salary cost of teachers per student, in upper secondary education (2011).............................................................................................................................257B4B3B5B6B7Web 10. Table of ContentsEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 9Number ofthe indicatorin the2012 editionChapter C Access to Education, participation and progression........................259Indicator C1 Who participates in education?.........................................................................................................................................260Table C1.1a Enrolment rates, by age (2011)................................................................................................................................................269Table C1.2 Trends in enrolment rates (1995-2011)......................................................................................................................270Table C1.3 Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary enrolment patterns (2011).......271Table C1.4 Students in primary and secondary education, by percent share in type of institution or mode of enrolment (2010)..........................................................................................................272Table C1.5 Students in tertiary education, by percent share in type of institution or mode of enrolment (2011).....................................................................................................................................................273Table C1.6a Expected years in education from age 5 through age 39 (2011)...............................................274Indicator C2 How do early childhood education systems differ around the world?...................276Table C2.1 Enrolment rates in early childhood and primary education, by age (2005, 2011).......................................................................................................................................................................................................286Table C2.2 Characteristics of early childhood education programmes (2010, 2011)....................287Table C2.3 Characteristics of education-only and integrated early childhood education programmes (2011)..................................................................................................................................................................................288Indicator C3 How many students are expected to enter tertiary education?.......................................290Table C3.1a Entry rates into tertiary education and average age of new entrants (2011)....................299Table C3.1b Entry rates into tertiary education of students under the typical age of entry (2011)....................................................................................................................................................................................300Table C3.2a Trends in entry rates at the tertiary level (1995-2011)........................................................................301Table C3.3a Distribution of tertiary new entrants, by field of education (2011)...................................302Indicator C4 Who studies abroad and where?........................................................................................................................................304Table C4.1 International student mobility and foreign students in tertiary education (2005, 2011)........................................................................................................................................................................................................317Table C4.2 Distribution of international and foreign students enrolled in tertiary programmes, by field of education (2011)...............................................................................................................318Table C4.3 Distribution of international and foreign students in tertiary education, by country of origin (2011)..............................................................................................................................................................319Table C4.4 Citizens studying abroad in tertiary education, by country of destination (2011)......321Table C4.5 Mobility patterns of foreign and international students (2011).............................................323Table C4.6 Trends in the number of foreign students enrolled in tertiary education, by region of destination and origin (2000 to 2011)...................................................................................324Indicator C5 Transition from school to work: Where are the 15-29 year-olds?................................326Table C5.1a Expected years in education and not in education for 15-29 year-olds, by work status (2011).............................................................................................................................................................................337Table C5.2a Percentage of 15-29 year-olds in education and not in education, by work status, including duration of unemployment (2011)......................................................................................................338Table C5.3a Percentage of 15-29 year-olds in education and not in education, by work status, including part-time workers (2011).................................................................................339C2C3C1C5C4 11. Table of ContentsEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 201310Number ofthe indicatorin the2012 editionTable C5.4a Trends in the percentage of young people in education and not in education, employed or not, by 5-year age group (1997-2011)...................................................................................340Table C5.5a Percentage of 15-29 year-olds in education and not in education, by educational attainment and work status, including duration of unemployment (2011)............343Table C5.6 Percentage of 15-29 year-olds in education and not in education, by educational attainment and work status, including part-time (PT) workers (2011).........................346Table C5.7 Trends in the percentage of 15-29 year-old part-time (PT) and full-time (FT) workers in education and not in education (2006-11)...........................................................................349Chapter D The Learning Environment and Organisation of Schools..........351Indicator D1 How much time do students spend in the classroom?....................................................................352Table D1.1 Compulsory and intended instruction time in public institutions (2011).................360Table D1.2a Instruction time per subject in primary education (2011)...............................................................361Table D1.2b Instruction time per subject in lower secondary education (2011)......................................362Indicator D2 What is the student-teacher ratio and how big are classes?..................................................364Table D2.1 Average class size, by type of institution and level of education (2011).......................374Table D2.2 Ratio of students to teaching staff in educational institutions (2011)...........................375Table D2.3 Ratio of students to teaching staff by type of institution (2011)...........................................376Indicator D3 How much are teachers paid?................................................................................................................................................378Table D3.1 Teachers statutory salaries at different points in their careers (2011)..........................388Table D3.2 Comparison of teachers salaries (2011).....................................................................................................................390Table D3.3 Average actual teachers salaries (2011)......................................................................................................................391Table D3.4 Trends in teachers salaries between 2000 and 2011...............................................................................392Indicator D4 How much time do teachers spend teaching?..............................................................................................394Table D4.1 Organisation of teachers working time (2011)................................................................................................401Table D4.2 Number of teaching hours per year (2000 and 2005-11)...................................................................402Indicator D5 Who are the teachers?......................................................................................................................................................................404Annex 1 Characteristics of education systems.................................................................................407Table X1.1a Upper secondary graduation rate: Typical graduation ages and method used to calculate graduation rates (2011).................................................................................................................408Table X1.1b Post-secondary non-tertiary graduation rates: Typical graduation ages and method used to calculate graduation rates (2011)..........................................................................410Table X1.1c Tertiary graduation rate: Typical graduation ages and method used to calculate graduation rates (2011).................................................................................................................................411Table X1.1d Tertiary entry rate: Typical age of entry and method used to calculate entry rates (2011).......................................................................................................................................................................................413Table X1.2a School year and financial year used for the calculation of indicators, OECD countries.............................................................................................................................................................................................414Table X1.2b School year and financial year used for the calculation of indicators, other G20 countries.................................................................................................................................................................................415D2D1D3D4D5Web 12. Table of ContentsEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 11Number ofthe indicatorin the2012 editionAnnex 2 Reference statistics...........................................................................................................................................................417Table X2.1 Overview of the economic context using basic variables (reference period: calendar year 2010, 2010 current prices).........................................................418Table X2.2a Basic reference statistics (reference period: calendar year 2010, 2010 current prices)................................................................................................................................................................................419Table X2.2b Basic reference statistics (reference period: calendar year 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010)..........................................................................................................................................................................................................420Table X2.3a Teachers statutory salaries at different points in their careers (2011)..........................421Table X2.3b Trends in teachers salaries, between 2000 and 2011.............................................................................423Table X2.3c Reference statistics used in calculating teachers salaries (2000, 2005-11)..............425Annex 3 Sources, methods and technical notes...............................................................................427Contributors to this publication.........................................................................................................................................................................................429Related OECD publications..........................................................................................................................................................................................................435Thisbookhas...StatLinks 2AservicethatdeliversExcelles fromtheprintedpage!LookfortheStatLinksatthebottomleft-handcornerofthetablesorgraphsinthisbook.TodownloadthematchingExcelspreadsheet,justtypethelinkintoyourInternetbrowser,startingwiththehttp://dx.doi.orgprefix.IfyourereadingthePDFe-bookedition,andyourPCisconnectedtotheInternet,simplyclickonthelink.YoullfindStatLinksappearinginmoreOECDbooks. 13. Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 13EditorialLearning their way out:Youth, education and skills in the midstof the crisisThis edition of Education at a Glance comes at a time when youth unemployment keeps policy makers awakeat night. Between 2008 and 2011 the years to which most data in this volume refer unemployment ratesclimbed steeply in most countries and have remained high ever since. Young people have been particularlyhard-hit by un- and underemployment as a result of the global recession. In 2011, the average proportion of15-29 year-olds neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) across OECD countries was16%;among 25-29 year-olds, 20% were NEET. (Among this latter group, 40% were unemployed, more than half ofthem for more than six months; the rest did not participate in the labour market at all.) In some countriesthe figures are much higher, with more than one in three people between the ages of 25 and 29 neither ineducation nor in work. These young people are forced to pay a very high price for a crisis that was not of theirmaking, with long-lasting consequences for their skills, work morale and social integration. The demoralisingshortterm effects for individuals, families and communities demand urgent policy responses, while the longer-term ramifications, in terms of skills loss, scarring effects and de-motivation, are real and affect countriespotential for sustainable recovery.The distribution of unemployment within the younger generation sheds light on some of the factors that mayincrease the risk of joblessness, which, in turn, offers insights for policy responses. Most notably, educationalattainment has a huge impact on employability, and the crisis has strengthened this impact even further. Onaverage across OECD countries, 4.8% of individuals with a tertiary degree were unemployed in 2011, while12.6% of those lacking a secondary education were. Between 2008 and 2011 the unemployment gap betweenthose with low levels of education and those with high levels of education widened: across all age groups, theunemployment rate for low-educated individuals increased by almost 3.8 percentage points, while it increasedby only 1.5 percentage points for highly educated individuals. Without the foundation skills provided by aminimum level of education, people find themselves particularly vulnerable in an insecure labour market.The crisis has also produced ample evidence that a good education provides valuable insurance against a lack ofwork experience: the impact of educational attainment on unemployment is much greater for younger peoplethan it is for older adults. Across OECD countries, an average of 18.1% of 25-34 year-olds without secondaryeducation were unemployed in 2011, compared with 8.8% of 55-64 year-olds. Among 25-34 year-olds with atertiary qualification, an average of 6.8% were unemployed, compared with 4.0% of 55-64 year-olds with asimilar level of education.Nevertheless, that fact that these troubling trends are far from universal indicates that they are notinevitable. There are large differences between countries in the way the recession has shaped the social realityfor young people. The steep increases in youth unemployment between 2008 and 2011, especially amonglow-educated young people, in countries such as Estonia (a 17.6 percentage-point increase in unemploymentamong 2534yearolds without a secondary education), Greece (15.0 percentage-point increase), Ireland(21.5percentage-point increase) and Spain (16.0 percentage-point increase) are well-known. Less knownis that, during the same period, some countries saw drops in unemployment among low-skilled youth,including Austria (-3.3percentage points), Chile (-3.6 percentage points), Germany (-2.1 percentage points),Israel (-0.9 percentage point), Korea (-1.6 percentage points), Luxembourg (-1.0 percentage point) andTurkey (-1.7percentage points). Several other countries were able to contain the increases within more orless tolerable levels. 14. EditorialEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 201314Though many factors play a role in a countrys capacity to contain the rise in youth unemployment intimes of crisis, the way institutional arrangements between education and work facilitate transitionsinto employment is perhaps one of the most important. This years Education at a Glance provides moredetailed data on programme orientation (general versus vocational) in secondary and tertiary education.Countries with relatively high numbers of 25-34 year-old graduates from vocationally oriented programmessucceeded in reducing the risk of unemployment among young people with upper secondary education astheir highest level of attainment. Countries that have a higher-than-average (32%) proportion of graduatesfrom vocational programmes, such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Luxembourg, were allable to keep the increases in unemployment rates among this age group to below 8 percentage points.Conversely, countries such as Greece, Ireland and Spain, where less than 25% of young adults graduatefrom vocational upper secondary education, saw increases in unemployment rates of 12 percentage pointsor more among 25-34 year-olds with only secondary education. For young people who do not continue intotertiary education, vocational education clearly offers better prospects for their employability than general,more academically oriented upper secondary education.Vocational education and training (VET) systems thus play a critical role in strengthening countries capacityto deal with rapidly changing labour-market conditions. Several OECD countries have developed policies toimprove and expand VET programmes at the upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary levels in orderto equip young people with the skills the labour market demands. These programmes often include intensiveworkplace training and are based on extensive partnerships between schools and enterprises. Between 2005and 2011, the number of students graduating from upper secondary vocational programmes increased byan average of 4.3% across OECD countries. In several countries, notably Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland,Portugal and Spain, this increase exceeded 10%.We can further improve our understanding of how qualifications are related to labour-market outcomesby delving into the actual content of qualifications, rather than simply classifying them by level. Thisyears edition explores some data on graduates field of study. While data from only a limited number ofcountries are examined, these data show a wide variation in unemployment rates among tertiary graduatesin different fields of study. Interestingly, this variation does not fully reflect the segmentation in labourdemand and wages found more broadly in the economy and in the labour market. For example, in theUnitedStates, the unemployment rate for graduates from the high-paying field of computer and informationsystems(5.3%) was higher than the unemployment rate for graduates of relatively low-paying secondaryteaching programmes(2.4%), which had one of the lowest unemployment figures of any programme. Therelationship between students career choices, skill development in a particular field of study, and actualemployability is more complex than often assumed.Educational attainment not only affects employability, as EducationataGlance shows, but also has an impact onincome from employment. On average, the relative earnings of tertiary-educated adults is over 1.5 times thatof adults with upper secondary education, while individuals without an upper secondary education earn 25%less, on average, than their peers who have attained that level of education. The crisis has widened this wagegap: the average difference between earnings from employment between low-educated and highly educatedindividuals was 75% across OECD countries in 2008, increasing to 90% in 2011.Individuals lacking the foundation skills provided by a complete secondary education cannot expect theirincomes to rise substantially as they grow older. Indeed, the wage gap between those with low and high levelsof education tends to increase with age. Without a secondary education, 25-34 year-olds earn 80% of whattheir colleagues with a secondary education earn, on average, but 55-64 year-olds earn only 72% of what theirmore-educated peers earn. The wage premium for higher education increases with age. A 25-34 year-old witha tertiary education earns 40% more, on average, than an adult of the same age who has only a secondaryeducation, while a 55-64 year-old earns 76% more. Educational attainment besides a successful start inemployment thus has long-lasting and mutually reinforcing effects over a lifetime. A higher education degreeclearly pays off in the long run. 15. EditorialEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 15Given the close relationship between education, employment and earnings, young people develop strategiesto improve their life chances by investing in education. In recent years, they literally learned their way outof the crisis. When opportunity costs declined and it seemed better to postpone entry into an insecurelabour market, many young adults opted to equip themselves with more competitive skills before trying toenter the world of work. In most countries, increased demand for post-compulsory education more thancompensated for the demographic decline in these age groups. In 2011, the OECD average for 15-19 yearoldsenrolled in education was 85%; and the proportion of 20-29 year-olds in education climbed from 23% in2000 to 29% in 2011. As a consequence, the proportion of adults with tertiary-level qualifications rose bymore than 10 percentage points between 2000 and 2011, while the share of adults without a secondaryeducation qualification dropped by the same rate. Across OECD countries, 39% of 25-34 year-olds had atertiary qualification in 2011.The changes in enrolment rates, employment rates and investment in education observed in the first years ofthe recession indicate how education and skills determine the way individuals, families and societies as a wholefared during the most challenging economic and social crisis in recent history. Highly educated young peoplefrom fields of study in high demand found a job easily, ending up in a high skills high wage equilibrium, andcould envisage a prosperous life ahead of them. For others, a tertiary qualification did not bring the expectedrewards, either because the labour market was contracting too much often protecting older generationsat the expense of the youngest generation of workers or because their chosen field of study was alreadysaturated or not aligned with the needs of the labour market. Over-schooling and under-employment thenresulted in frustration. Young adults with an upper secondary qualification were able to survive the jobs crisisif they were the beneficiaries of programmes that prepared them well for work. Those who hadnt attained acomplete secondary education, and so lacked the foundation skills needed to survive in a complex economy,often found themselves at the wrong end of the skills-based polarisation, stuck in a low skills low wageequilibrium or in long-term unemployment with very little prospects for improvement.High youth unemployment is not inevitable, even during an economic crisis; it is the product of the interactionbetween the economic context and particular policies. And, as the data collected during the early years of thiscrisis show, the amount of public spending on education has little to do with a countrys success or failure incontaining youth unemployment: nearly all governments maintained more or less their level of investmentin education throughout the crisis. What matters more are the choices countries make in how to allocate thatspending and the policies they design to improve the efficiency and relevance of the education they provide.Data and policy experiences in countries show which kinds of policies are effective in boosting young peoplesemployability: ensuring that all young people achieve both a good level of foundation skills and soft skills,such as teamwork, communication and negotiation, that will give them the resilience they need to succeed inan ever-changing labour market; reducing school dropout rates and making sure that as many young peopleas possible complete at least an upper secondary education (ifnecessary, through second-chance educationopportunities); making secondary education relevant to the skill needs of the labour market; developingvocational education and training, and bridging education to the world of work by including work-basedlearning; securing flexible pathways into tertiary education; and providing good study and career guidanceservices so that young people can make sound, informed career decisions. These are exactly the policies thatthe OECD Youth Action Plan, adopted at the OECD Ministerial Meeting in May 2013, is advocating to improvethe prospects for young people and for societies as a whole.Angel GurraOECD Secretary-General 16. Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 17Introduction:the Indicators and their Framework The organising frameworkEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators offers a rich, comparable and up-to-date array of indicators thatreflects a consensus among professionals on how to measure the current state of education internationally. Theindicators provide information on the human and financial resources invested in education, how education andlearning systems operate and evolve, and the returns to educational investments. The indicators are organisedthematically, and each is accompanied by information on the policy context and the interpretation of the data.The education indicators are presented within an organising framework that:distinguishes between the actors in education systems: individual learners and teachers, instructionalsettings and learning environments, educational service providers, and the education system as a whole;groups the indicators according to whether they address learning outcomes for individuals or countries,policy levers or circumstances that shape these outcomes, or to antecedents or constraints that set policychoices into context; andidentifies the policy issues to which the indicators relate, with three major categories distinguishingbetween the quality of educational outcomes and educational provision, issues of equity in educationaloutcomes and educational opportunities, and the adequacy and effectiveness of resource management.The following matrix describes the first two dimensions:1. Education andlearning outputsand outcomes2. Policy levers andcontexts shapingeducationaloutcomes3. Antecedents orconstraints thatcontextualise policyI.Individualparticipantsin educationand learning1.I. The qualityand distributionof individualeducationaloutcomes2.I. Individual attitudes,engagement,and behaviourto teaching andlearning3.I.Backgroundcharacteristicsof the individuallearners andteachersII.Instructionalsettings1.II. The qualityof instructionaldelivery2.II. Pedagogy, learningpractices andclassroom climate3.II. Student learningconditions andteacher workingconditionsIII. Providers ofeducational services1.III.The output ofeducationalinstitutions andinstitutionalperformance2.III.School environmentand organisation3.III.Characteristicsof the serviceproviders andtheir communitiesIV. The educationsystem as a whole1.IV.The overallperformance ofthe educationsystem2.IV.System-wideinstitutionalsettings, resourceallocations, andpolicies3.IV. The nationaleducational,social, economic,and demographiccontexts 17. IntroductionEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 201318The following sections discuss the matrix dimensions in more detail: Actors in education systemsThe OECD Indicators of Education Systems (INES) programme seeks to gauge the performance of nationaleducation systems as a whole, rather than to compare individual institutional or other sub-national entities.However, there is increasing recognition that many important features of the development, functioningand impact of education systems can only be assessed through an understanding of learning outcomes andtheir relationships to inputs and processes at the level of individuals and institutions. To account for this,the indicator framework distinguishes between a macro level, two meso-levels and a micro-level of educationsystems. These relate to:the education system as a whole;the educational institutions and providers of educational services;the instructional setting and the learning environment within the institutions; andthe individual participants in education and learning.To some extent, these levels correspond to the entities from which data are being collected, but their importancemainly centres on the fact that many features of the education system play out quite differently at differentlevels of the system, which needs to be taken into account when interpreting the indicators. For example, atthe level of students within a classroom, the relationship between student achievement and class size may benegative, if students in small classes benefit from improved contact with teachers. At the class or school level,however, students are often intentionally grouped such that weaker or disadvantaged students are placedin smaller classes so that they receive more individual attention. At the school level, therefore, the observedrelationship between class size and student achievement is often positive (suggesting that students in largerclasses perform better than students in smaller classes). At higher aggregated levels of education systems, therelationship between student achievement and class size is further confounded, e.g. by the socio-economicintake of schools or by factors relating to the learning culture in different countries. Therefore, past analysesthat have relied on macro-level data alone have sometimes led to misleading conclusions. Outcomes, policy levers and antecedentsThe second dimension in the organising framework further groups the indicators at each of the above levels:indicators on observed outputs of education systems, as well as indicators related to the impact of knowledgeand skills for individuals, societies and economies, are grouped under the sub-heading output and outcomes ofeducation and learning;the sub-heading policy levers and contexts groups activities seeking information on the policy levers orcircumstances which shape the outputs and outcomes at each level; andthese policy levers and contexts typically have antecedents factors that define or constrain policy. Theseare represented by the sub-heading antecedents and constraints. It should be noted that the antecedents orconstraints are usually specific for a given level of the education system and that antecedents at a lower level ofthe system may well be policy levers at a higher level. For teachers and students in a school, for example, teacherqualifications are a given constraint while, at the level of the education system, professional development ofteachers is a key policy lever. Policy issuesEach of the resulting cells in the framework can then be used to address a variety of issues from differentpolicy perspectives. For the purpose of this framework, policy perspectives are grouped into three classes thatconstitute the third dimension in the organising framework for INES:quality of educational outcomes and educational provision;equality of educational outcomes and equity in educational opportunities; andadequacy, effectiveness and efficiency of resource management. 18. IntroductionEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 19In addition to the dimensions mentioned above, the time perspective as an additional dimension in theframework allows dynamic aspects in the development of education systems to be modelled as well.The indicators that are published in Education at a Glance 2013 fit within this framework, though often theyspeak to more than one cell.Most of the indicators in Chapter A, The output of educational institutions and the impact of learning, relate tothe first column of the matrix describing outputs and outcomes of education. Even so, indicators in ChapterAmeasuring educational attainment for different generations, for instance, not only provide a measure of theoutput of the education system, but also provide context for current educational policies, helping to shape policeson, for example, lifelong learning.Chapter B, Financial and human resources invested in education, provides indicators that are either policy leversor antecedents to policy, or sometimes both. For example, expenditure per student is a key policy measure thatmost directly affects the individual learner, as it acts as a constraint on the learning environment in schools andlearning conditions in the classroom.Chapter C, Access to education, participation and progression, provides indicators that are a mixture of outcomeindicators, policy levers and context indicators. Internationalisation of education and progression rates are,for instance, outcomes measures to the extent that they indicate the results of policies and practices at theclassroom, school and system levels. But they can also provide contexts for establishing policy by identifyingareas where policy intervention is necessary to, for instance, address issues of inequity.Chapter D, The learning environment and organisation of schools, provides indicators on instruction time,teachers working time and teachers salaries that not only represent policy levers which can be manipulatedbut also provide contexts for the quality of instruction in instructional settings and for the outcomes ofindividual learners. It also presents data on the profile of teachers, the levels of government at which decisionsin education systems are taken, and pathways and gateways to gain access to secondary and tertiary education.The reader should note that this edition of Education at a Glance covers a significant amount of data from non-OECD G20 countries (please refer to the Readers Guide for details). 19. Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 21Readers Guide Coverage of the statisticsAlthough a lack of data still limits the scope of the indicators in many countries, the coverage extends,in principle, to the entire national education system (within the national territory), regardless of whoowns or sponsors the institutions concerned and regardless of how education is delivered. With oneexception (described below), all types of students and all age groups are included: children (includingstudents with special needs), adults, nationals, foreigners, and students in open-distance learning,in special education programmes or in educational programmes organised by ministries other thanthe Ministry of Education, provided that the main aim of the programme is to broaden or deepen anindividuals knowledge. However, children below the age of three are only included if they participatein programmes that typically cater to children who are at least three years old. Vocational and technicaltraining in the workplace, with the exception of combined school- and work-based programmes that areexplicitly deemed to be part of the education system, is not included in the basic education expenditureand enrolment data.Educational activities classified as adult or non-regular are covered, provided that the activitiesinvolve the same or similar content as regular education studies, or that the programmes of whichthey are a part lead to qualifications similar to those awarded in regular educational programmes.Courses for adults that are primarily for general interest, personal enrichment, leisure or recreation areexcluded. Country coverageThis publication features data on education from the 34 OECD member countries, two non-OECDcountries that participate in the OECD Indicators of Education Systems programme (INES), namelyBrazil and the Russian Federation, and the other G20 countries that do not participate in INES(Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa). When data for these latter sixcountries are available, data sources are specified below the tables and charts.The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeliauthorities. 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. Calculation of international meansFor many indicators, an OECD average is presented; for some, an OECD total is shown.The OECD average is calculated as the unweighted mean of the data values of all OECD countries forwhich data are available or can be estimated. The OECD average therefore refers to an average of datavalues at the level of the national systems and can be used to answer the question of how an indicatorvalue for a given country compares with the value for a typical or average country. It does not take intoaccount the absolute size of the education system in each country.The OECD total is calculated as the weighted mean of the data values of all OECD countries for whichdata are available or can be estimated. It reflects the value for a given indicator when the OECD area isconsidered as a whole. This approach is taken for the purpose of comparing, for example, expenditurecharts for individual countries with those of the entire OECD area for which valid data are available,with this area considered as a single entity. 20. Readers GuideEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 201322Both the OECD average and the OECD total can be significantly affected by missing data. Given therelatively small number of countries surveyed, no statistical methods are used to compensate for this.In cases where a category is not applicable (code a) in a country, or where the data value is negligible(coden) for the corresponding calculation, the value zero is imputed for the purpose of calculatingOECD averages. In cases where both the numerator and the denominator of a ratio are not applicable(codea) for a certain country, this country is not included in the OECD average.For financial tables using 1995, 2000 and 2005 data, both the OECD average and OECD total arecalculated for countries providing 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2009 data. This allows for a comparison of theOECD average and OECD total over time with no distortion due to the exclusion of certain countries inthe different years.For many indicators, an EU21 average is also presented. It is calculated as the unweighted mean of thedata values of the 21 countries that are members of both the European Union and the OECD for whichdata are available or can be estimated. These 21 countries are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic,Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, theNetherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.For some indicators, a G20 average is presented. The G20 average is calculated as the unweighted meanof the data values of all G20 countries for which data are available or can be estimated (Argentina,Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, theRussian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States; theEuropean Union is the 20th member of the G20 but is not included in the calculation). The G20 averageis computed if data for either China or India, or both, are available. Classification of levels of educationThe classification of the levels of education is based on the International Standard Classificationof Education (ISCED 1997). ISCED 1997 is an instrument for compiling statistics on educationinternationally and distinguishes among six levels of education. ISCED 1997 was recently revised, andthe new International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011) was formally adopted inNovember 2011. This new classification will be implemented in the data collection in May 2014.Term used in this publication ISCED classification (and subcategories)Pre-primary educationThe first stage of organised instruction designed to introduce veryyoung children to the school atmosphere. Minimum entry age of 3.ISCED 0Primary educationDesigned to provide a sound basic education in reading, writingand mathematics and a basic understanding of some othersubjects. Entry age: between 5 and 7. Duration: 6 years.ISCED 1Lower secondary educationCompletes provision of basic education, usually in a more subjectoriented way with more specialist teachers. Entry follows 6 yearsof primary education; duration is 3 years. In some countries, theend of this level marks the end of compulsory education.ISCED 2 (subcategories: 2A prepares students forcontinuing academic education, leading to 3A; 2Bhas stronger vocational focus, leading to 3B; 2Coffers preparation of entering workforce)Upper secondary educationStronger subject specialisation than at lower secondary level, withteachers usually more qualified. Students typically expected tohave completed 9 years of education or lower secondary schoolingbefore entry and are generally 15 or 16 years old.ISCED 3 ISCED 3 (subcategories: 3A preparesstudents for university-level education at level5A; 3B for entry to vocationally oriented tertiaryeducation at level 5B; 3C prepares students forworkforce or for post-secondary non-tertiaryeducation at level ISCED 4) 21. Readers GuideEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 23Post-secondary non-tertiary educationInternationally, this level straddles the boundary between uppersecondary and post-secondary education, even though it might beconsidered upper secondary or post-secondary in a national context.Programme content may not be significantly more advanced thanthat in upper secondary, but is not as advanced as that in tertiaryprogrammes. Duration usually the equivalent of between 6 monthsand 2 years of full-time study. Students tend to be older than thoseenrolled in upper secondary education.ISCED 4 ISCED 4 (subcategories: 4A mayprepare students for entry to tertiary education,both university level and vocationally oriented;4B typically prepares students to enter theworkforce)Tertiary education ISCED 5 (subcategories: 5A and 5B; see below)Tertiary-type A educationLargely theory-based programmes designed to provide sufficientqualifications for entry to advanced research programmes andprofessions with high skill requirements, such as medicine, dentistryor architecture. Duration at least 3 years full-time, though usually4 or more years. These programmes are not exclusively offeredat universities; and not all programmes nationally recognisedas university programmes fulfil the criteria to be classified astertiary-type A. Tertiary-type A programmes include second-degreeprogrammes, such as the American masters degree.ISCED 5ATertiary-type B educationProgrammes are typically shorter than those of tertiary-typeA and focus on practical, technical or occupational skills fordirect entry into the labour market, although some theoreticalfoundations may be covered in the respective programmes. Theyhave a minimum duration of two years full-time equivalentat the tertiary level.ISCED 5BAdvanced research programmesProgrammes that lead directly to the award of an advanced researchqualification, e.g. Ph.D. The theoretical duration of these programmesis 3 years, full-time, in most countries (for a cumulative total ofat least 7 years full-time equivalent at the tertiary level), althoughthe actual enrolment time is typically longer. Programmes aredevoted to advanced study and original research.ISCED 6The glossary available at www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm also describes these levels of education in detail, andAnnex 1 shows the typical age of graduates of the main educational programmes, by ISCED level. Symbols for missing data and abbreviationsThese symbols and abbreviations are used in the tables and charts:a Data is not applicable because the category does not apply.c There are too few observations to provide reliable estimates (e.g. in PISA, there are fewer than30 students or fewer than five schools with valid data). However, these statistics were includedin the calculation of cross-country averages.m Data is not available.n Magnitude is either negligible or zero.r Values are below a certain reliability threshold and should be interpreted with caution (seeAnnex 3 for country-specific definitions).w Data has been withdrawn at the request of the country concerned.x Data included in another category or column of the table (e.g. x(2) means that data are includedin column 2 of the table).~ Average is not comparable with other levels of education. 22. Readers GuideEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 201324 Further resourcesThe website www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm is a rich source of information on the methods used to calculatethe indicators, on the interpretation of the indicators in the respective national contexts, and on thedata sources involved. The website also provides access to the data underlying the indicators and to acomprehensive glossary for technical terms used in this publication.All post-production changes to this publication are listed at www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm.Education at a Glance uses the OECD StatLinks service. Below each table and chart in Education at aGlance 2013 is a URL that leads to a corresponding Excel workbook containing the underlying data forthe indicator. These URLs are stable and will remain unchanged over time. In addition, readers of theEducation at a Glance e-book will be able to click directly on these links and the workbook will open in aseparate window. Codes used for territorial entitiesThese codes are used in certain charts. Country or territorial entity names are used in the text. Notethat throughout the publication, the Flemish Community of Belgium and the French Community ofBelgium may be referred to as Belgium (Fl.) and Belgium (Fr.), respectively.ARGArgentina LUXLuxembourgAUSAustralia MEXMexicoAUTAustria NLDNetherlandsBELBelgium NORNorwayBFL Belgium (Flemish Community) NZL New ZealandBFR Belgium (French Community) POLPolandBRABrazil PRTPortugalCANCanada RUS Russian FederationCHESwitzerland SAU Saudi ArabiaCHLChile SCOScotlandCHNChina SVK Slovak RepublicCZE Czech Republic SVNSloveniaDEUGermany SWESwedenDNKDenmark TURTurkeyENGEngland UKMUnited KingdomESPSpain USA United StatesESTEstonia ZAF South AfricaFINFinlandFRAFranceGRCGreeceHUNHungaryIDNIndonesiaINDIndiaIRLIrelandISLIcelandISRIsraelITAItalyJPNJapanKORKorea 23. Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 25The Output ofEducational Institutionsand the Impact of LearningAChapterIndicator A1 To what level have adults studied?12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932847982Indicator A2 How many students are expected to complete upper secondary education?12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932848191Indicator A3 How many students are expected to complete tertiary education?12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932848343Indicator A4 How many students complete tertiary education? 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932848476Indicator A5 How does educational attainment affect participation in the labour market?12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932848533Indicator A6 What are the earnings premiums from education?12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932848856Indicator A7 What are the incentives to invest in education?12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932849084Indicator A8 What are the social outcomes of education?12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932849255 24. Indicator A1Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 201326To what level have adults studied?The rate of tertiary education attainment among adults in OECD countries has increased byalmost 10 percentage points since 2000.In most OECD countries, 25-34 year-olds have the highest rate of tertiary attainment amongall adults by an average of 7 percentage points.Gender gaps in educational attainment are not only narrowing, in some cases, they arereversing.12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932846215ContextEducational attainment is frequently used as a measure of human capital and the level of anindividuals skills, in other words, a measure of the skills available in the population and the labourforce. The level of educational attainment is the percentage of a population that has reached acertain level of education. Higher levels of educational attainment are strongly associated withhigher employment rates and are perceived as a gateway to better labour opportunities and earningspremiums. Individuals have strong incentives to pursue more education, and governments haveincentives to build on the skills of the population through education, particularly as nationaleconomies continue to shift from mass production to knowledge economies.Overthepastdecades,almostallOECDcountrieshaveseensignificantincreasesintheeducationalattainment of their populations. Tertiary education has expanded markedly, and in most OECDcountries, an upper secondary qualification (ISCED 3) has become the most common educationlevel attained by young people. Some countries have introduced policy initiatives to more closelyalign the development of particular skills with the needs of the labour market through vocationaleducation and training (VET) programmes. These policies seem to have had a major impact oneducational attainment in several OECD countries where upper secondary VET qualifications arethe most common qualifications held among adults.Indicators in this volume show that gender differences persist in educational attainment,employment rates and earnings. In OECD countries, younger women have higher attainment706050403020100%KoreaJapanCanadaRussianFederationIrelandUnitedKingdomNorwayLuxembourgNewZealandIsraelAustraliaUnitedStatesFranceSwedenBelgiumChileSwitzerlandNetherlandsFinlandIcelandPolandSpainEstoniaOECDaverageDenmarkSloveniaGreeceHungaryGermanyPortugalSlovakRepublicCzechRepublicMexicoAustriaItalyTurkeyBrazilCountries are ranked in descending order of the percentage of 25-34 year-olds who have attained tertiary education.Source: OECD. Table A1.3a. See Annex 3 for notes (www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm).25-34 year-olds 25-64 year-oldsChart A1.1. Population that has attained tertiary education (2011)Percentage, by age group 25. Indicator A1Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 27rates than younger men in upper secondary and tertiary education. Nonetheless, overall, adultmen have higher attainment rates than adult women in upper secondary education. Despitethe fact that a larger proportion of women than men now have a tertiary education, womensemployment rates and wages are lower than those of tertiary-educated men (see Indicators A5and A6).The relationship between education and demand for skills is explored further in labour-marketindicators on employment and unemployment (see Indicator A5), earnings (see Indicator A6),incentives to invest in education (see Indicator A7) and transitions from school to work (seeIndicator C5). Other findingsThe proportion of adults with no upper secondary education shrank by about 10 percentagepoints over the past decade.Even if tertiary attainment rates have increased in recent years, less than 35% of both menand women attain tertiary education.Among 30-34 year-olds, more than 40% of women have a tertiary education surpassingthe rate of men with that level of education by about 8 percentage points.TrendsSince 2000, tertiary attainment rates have been increasing in both OECD and non-OECDG20 countries; upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary attainment levels haveremained stable; and the proportion of people with below upper secondary education decreasedin most OECD countries. Between 2000 and 2011 the proportion of adults with below uppersecondary education shrank by almost 10 percentage points while tertiary attainment increasedby about the same degree. However, changes in attainment rates vary greatly between age groups.The differences in tertiary attainment rates between 25-34 year-olds and 55-64 year-olds canrange from over 50 percentage points in Korea to the inverse (i.e. fewer younger adults than olderadults with tertiary attainment) in Israel.NoteIn this publication, different indicators show the level of education among individuals, groupsand countries. Indicator A1 shows the level of attainment, i.e. the percentage of a populationthat has successfully completed a given level of education. Graduation rates in Indicators A2 andA3 measure the estimated percentage of younger adults who are expected to graduate from aparticular level of education during their lifetimes. Completion rates from tertiary programmesin Indicator A4 estimate the proportion of students who enter a programme and complete itsuccessfully within a certain period of time. 26. chapter A The Output of Educational Institutions and the Impact of LearningA1Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 20132880706050403020100%CzechRepublicSlovakRepublicPolandAustriaHungarySloveniaGermany2Japan3EstoniaSweden4UnitedStates3OECDaverageLuxembourgFinlandDenmarkSwitzerlandNorwayChile3FranceItalyNewZealandGreeceKorea3RussianFederation3NetherlandsIcelandCanadaUnitedKingdom3IrelandBelgiumIsraelAustraliaBrazil3SpainMexico3TurkeyPortugal31. Excluding ISCED 3C short programmes.2. Persons with ISCED 4A attainment in Germany have successfully completed both a general and a vocational programme. In this chart they havebeen allocated to vocational.3. Countries for which no information about programme orientation is available.4. Figures for Sweden include about 10% of 25-64 year-olds who have attained ISCED 3 or 4 in programmes that cannot be allocated by orientation.Countries are ranked in descending order of the percentage of 25-64 year-olds with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment (ISCED 3/4)regardless of the orientation of the programmes.Source: OECD. Table A1.5a. See Annex 3 for notes (www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm).Upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary (ISCED 3/4) with general orientationUpper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary (ISCED 3/4) with vocational orientationUpper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary (ISCED 3/4) with no distinction by orientationChart A1.2. Population whose highest level of attainment is upper secondaryor post-secondary non-tertiary education (2011)1Percentage of 25-64 year-olds who have attained ISCED level 3 or 4 as the highest level, and programme orientationAnalysisAttainment levels in OECD countriesUpper secondary attainment and the weight of vocational education and training (VET)Moreadults(25-64year-olds)haveattaineduppersecondaryeducation(includingpost-secondarynon-tertiaryeducation, but excluding upper secondary short programmes, i.e. ISCED levels 3A, 3B, 3C long and 4; see theReaders Guide for definitions of ISCED levels) than have attained any other level of education across OECDcountries. More than a third of the population in most OECD countries, and more than half the populationin Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia andSweden have attained an upper secondary education as the highest level of attainment (Table A1.4a).Only in Mexico, Portugal and Turkey, less than 20% of the population attained upper secondary educationas the highest level of education; and these countries, together with Italy and Spain, are the sole countries inwhich the proportion of people with below upper secondary education is larger than the proportion of adultswith upper secondary education or with tertiary attainment (Table A1.4a).12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932846234Chart A1.2 shows that the difference in upper secondary attainment rates between adults in vocational andgeneral tracks is substantial in many OECD countries. In Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, theSlovak Republic and Slovenia, at least half the population has attained upper secondary or post-secondarynon-tertiary VET qualifications as the highest level of attainment; however in these countries, people tend toleave education after attaining upper secondary qualifications (Table A1.5a). 27. A1To what level have adults studied? Indicator A1 chapter AEducation at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 2013 29Box A1.1. Public-private partnership in VETIn some countries, such as Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland, public-private partnershipsin vocational education and training (VET) are a longstanding tradition and play an importantrole in preparing students for the labour market. Their importance is reflected in the high levels ofupper secondary attainment, graduation and enrolment in these countries (Tables A1.1a, A1.5a andIndicatorsA2 and C1).Also known as dual or co-operative systems of vocational education and training, these partnershipsare characterised by:their links between work- and school-based learning to prepare apprentices for a successful transitionto full-time employment;the high degree of engagement on the part of employers and other social partners;the opportunity for governments to share education costs with the private sector;the opportunity for enterprises to acquire a young, employable workforce and reduce advertising,hiring and induction costs; andthe opportunity for trainees to benefit from highly motivating earning and learning situations, totake responsibility, and to develop personally and professionally.One of the strengths of dual VET systems is that several stakeholders, including experts from workplacepractice and from VET schools, employers and trade unions, are involved in developing vocational trainingregulations and curricular frameworks. While the private sector generally assumes responsibility forpractical training, the vocational school inculcates the theoretical knowledge necessary for practicing aprofession. This partnership ensures that the needs of both companies and employees are met. The bindingrequirements of the training regulations and the curricular framework guarantee a national standard whilegiving companies the flexibility to agree a training plan with trainees. This is largely why the transition fromeducation to first employment is notably smooth (Table C5.2a, Tables C5.2b, c and d [available on line]) andthe youth unemployment rate is below the OECD average across these countries.Nevertheless, labour-market initiatives and systemic measures are needed to balance the effects ofeconomic downturns and to support particular sub-groups, such as migrants and students with specialneeds. In Austria, for example, graduates of compulsory schooling who do not have a place at an uppersecondary school or cannot find a place in a company-based apprenticeship programme are given theopportunity to learn an apprenticeship trade at a supra-company training institution financed by PublicEmployment Service Austria (Arbeitsmarktservice, AMS).Thesesystemsshowthatobtaininganacademicqualificationisnottheonlywayforindividualstogaintheskills needed in todays labour market. Upgraded training for higher positions provides a real alternativeto a degree in higher education, and is highly regarded both by individuals and society in general. InGermany and Switzerland, qualifications obtained through advanced vocational training and from tradeand technical schools lead to recognised occupational certificates and titles, providing a means of careeradvancement without a university degree. Advanced vocational training builds on initial training andleads to qualifications such as master craftsman that are regarded as equivalent to academic degrees.To emphasise the equivalence of general and vocational education, new pathways to tertiary educationhave been opened for VET graduates.However, despite the similarities of systems in Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland,the international diversity of VET systems is large. The OECD has carried out extensive work in theassessment of the challenges of VET systems throughout OECD countries in the reviews Learning for Jobs(OECD, 2010) and Skills beyond School (OECD, 2013). 28. chapter A The Output of Educational Institutions and the Impact of LearningA1Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators OECD 201330Through upper secondary VET programmes, students can acquire the skills, knowledge and practicalexperience relevant to specialised occupations, and young people can prepare for entry into the labour market(see Box A1.1, which provides details on the VET systems in Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland).However, reliable data on these systems is scarce and international comparisons are difficult to establish,especially for tertiary programmes. Not only do VET systems vary greatly among countries, but even whenVET education is an important part of an education system, as it is in several countries, it is usually eclipsedin prestige by general education (OECD, 2010 and 2013) (see Table A1.5a and Table A1.5b, available on line).Tertiary attainmentOver the past decade, tertiary attainment (including advanced research programmes, i.e. ISCED levels 5A, 5Band 6) has increased by almost 10 percentage points across OECD countries. On average, 33% of adult womenand 30% of adult men have attained tertiary education (Table A1.3b, available on line). In most OECDcountries,younger adults have a higher rate of tertiary attainment than all adults by an average of 7 percentage points. In15 countries, this difference is larger than the OECD average, and is larger than 10percentage points in Chile,France, Japan, Korea and Poland (Chart A1.1).Despite this increase, only in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdomare attainment rates for tertiary education higher than those for upper secondary education. In Korea, ratesfor both upper secondary and tertiary education are almost equal. Spain is the only country in this groupwhere there are more adults with below upper secondary education than adults who have attained a tertiaryeducation (Table A1.4a).There is an important difference between upper secondary and tertiary education attainment. Data show thathigh upper secondary attainment rates do not necessarily imply high tertiary education attainment rates. Thisis particularly true for countries with strong upper secondary or post-secondary non-tert