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 15-year-olds perform: PISA

Every three to four years the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics, and science on one scale, so that countries can be compared and followed over time. The three charts show Canada’s mean score in each subject since the first cycle in 2000, beside the OECD’s own trend comparator, the average of the 23 member countries with data since 2000. Every one of the 16 peer countries is one click away in each legend.

Reading

Mathematics

Science

In 2025, Canada’s mean score was 490 in reading, 485 in mathematics, and 510 in science, against OECD averages of 461, 463, and 482. Reading has fallen 44 points since 2000, from 534; the OECD’s own trend comparator, the average of the 23 member countries with data since 2000, fell 34 points over the same period, from 500 to 466. Since 2018, Canada’s scores have changed by −30 points in reading, −27 in mathematics, and −8 in science. The OECD attaches a caution to Canada’s 2025 results: one or more of its sampling standards were not met.

Latest PISA scores: ranked

By province

Every province takes part in PISA with a sample of its own, so the results can be followed province by province. The chart shows each province’s mean score in every cycle since the subject was first tested, with Canada in maroon; the dropdown switches subjects, and the six smaller provinces are one legend click away. In 2025, science scores ranged from 520 in Alberta to 474 in New Brunswick, a spread of 46 points, and every one of the 10 provinces scored lower than in 2006, the first cycle with science as the main subject. Ontario, the most populous province, scored 513, down 24 points from its 537 in 2006. The highest provincial score in mathematics was Quebec’s 500, and in reading Alberta’s 499. The provincial figures come from the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, which publishes the official Canadian results; the same caution attaches to the 2022 and 2025 results for Canada and for every province except Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan.

Latest PISA scores by province: ranked

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.

College, university, or trades

The tertiary total combines college and university. The ladder also includes the trades. This chart shows the three as the highest level of education held by Canadians aged 25 to 64: a university degree (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral), a college or CEGEP credential, and a trades or other non-tertiary certificate. A university degree has been the most common of the three every year since 2008. In 2025, 39% of adults held a university degree, 25% a college or CEGEP credential, and 10% a trades or other non-tertiary certificate. CEGEP cannot be separated from other college credentials: Statistics Canada’s attainment tables use the single category “College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma”.

By province and territory

The mix differs across the country. In 2025, a college or CEGEP credential was the highest level of education for 23% of adults aged 25 to 64 in Quebec, 27% in Ontario, and 25% in Canada as a whole. A trades or other non-tertiary certificate was the highest level for 18% of adults in Quebec. Canada is shown first; the provinces and territories are ordered by the share holding a university degree. Statistics Canada rounds each share to a whole number, so a bar’s bands can sum to slightly more or less than 100. The three territories’ figures come from small survey samples and are less precise than the provinces’ figures.

Finishing high school

Completing high school is the base of the ladder. In 2025, 5% of Canadians aged 25 to 34 had not completed high school. The OECD average was 14% in 2023, the latest year available for the average. The second chart shows the same measure by province and territory in the latest year. The three territories’ figures come from small survey samples and are less precise than the provinces’ figures.

Fields of study

What graduates studied

Business and public administration is the largest field of study among graduates: 28% of the credentials granted in 2023, compared with 21% in 1992. Education accounted for 5% and mathematics and computer science for 7%. These are credentials granted in a single year, about 643,000 in 2023: a flow, not enrolment and not the stock of qualifications held by adults. Shares are of the eleven broad fields shown; a small remainder in other or unclassified fields is excluded. Statistics Canada notes reporting changes within the series, including for Ontario colleges from 2015/2016, so a step between two years can reflect reporting rather than a change in what students study. Use the dropdown to switch credential level.

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. This is a snapshot of different generations at one moment, so it mixes two things: skills changing as people age, and older Canadians having had less schooling on average. A single survey cannot separate them. 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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