Education

Educational attainment and the cost of higher education in Canada

Education shapes both individual opportunity and the wider economy. This page looks at two questions: the level of education achieved by Canadians and what a university education costs. (Tuition is reported by province and nationally; Statistics Canada does not publish fees for individual institutions.)

How educated are Canadians?

By international standards Canada has one of the most highly educated populations in the world. The majority of Canadians aged 25–64 (about 64%) have completed some form of tertiary education — university, college or CEGEP. This is well above the OECD average of about 41%. Younger Canadians are increasingly more educated: about 68% of 25-to-34-year-olds hold a tertiary credential. Much of Canada’s standing on this metric reflects its large college and CEGEP system, not universities alone.

What kind of tertiary education?

“Tertiary” combines two quite different paths: shorter, more applied college and CEGEP programs (short-cycle tertiary) and university degrees. Splitting Canada’s 25–64 figure into its parts shows how much of the country’s high attainment rests on the college and CEGEP system. This component is roughly as large as bachelor’s degrees. There is also a steadily growing share of Canadians who hold master’s or doctoral degrees.

The gender gap

Among working-age Canadians in the 21st century, women are more likely than men to hold a tertiary credential. The gender gap has widened over time, from about five percentage points in 2000 to roughly 14 today. Women’s education lead exists at every level. At the master’s and doctoral level, where men were slightly ahead at the start of the century, women have since moved in front. Use the dropdown to switch between any tertiary education and its components.

Gender balance across fields of study

Graduates are not spread evenly across disciplines. Women earn the majority of credentials in most fields and a large majority in education, health, and the social sciences. On the other hand, men remain the majority in only a few fields: mathematics and computer science, and architecture and engineering. The first chart shows the split among the most recent year’s graduates; the second shows how each field’s balance has moved since 1992. Most fields have been broadly stable, but the share of women among computer-science graduates is lower today than it was in the early 1990s, while engineering has increased from its low starting point.

Adult skills: literacy and numeracy

Credentials are not the only important metric when quantifying the capabilities of a population. Skills are critical. The OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) tests adults aged 16 to 65 directly on literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem solving, each scored on a 0–500 scale. In the latest cycle, collected in 2022 and 2023, Canadian adults averaged 271 in literacy and 271 in numeracy, above the OECD averages of 259 and 262. Finland and Japan lead every domain. The comparison covers 16 of this site’s 17 peer countries (Australia did not participate, and the United Kingdom is represented by England only). Use the selector to switch skill.

Skills by province

The national average conceals a wide provincial variation: British Columbia’s adults post the country’s strongest scores in every domain, while Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick sit lowest. Use the selector to switch skill.

Who is most at risk

Averages hide structure within the data. About 19% of Canadian adults score at proficiency level 1 or below in literacy, meaning they can only read short and simple texts. The share of Canadians with limited literacy skills rises with age. Use the selector to switch skill.

Undergraduate tuition

Average undergraduate tuition for Canadian students, for Canada and the three provinces home to most of the country’s largest universities. Quebec and Newfoundland have tuition below the national average; Ontario sits above the average. Use the dropdown to switch between real (inflation-adjusted, constant dollars) and nominal (current dollars). Examining costs in real terms reveals changes relative to general inflation.

Domestic vs. international tuition

International students pay more tuition than domestic students do. International undergraduate fees have outpaced inflation and become a notable revenue source for universities. Use the dropdown to switch between real (constant) and nominal (current) dollars (Canada-wide).

Undergraduate tuition by field of study

What students pay also varies by program. Professional fields such as dentistry, medicine, law, and pharmacy sit above the average, while education and the humanities have the lowest cost. (Canada-wide, Canadian undergraduate students, latest year.)

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