Educational attainment

This indicator shows the distribution of the levels of educational attainment between the various population groups living in Switzerland. Educational attainment is a decisive factor in people’s socio-economic status. 

From an integration perspective, the aim is to reduce the share of people without post-compulsory education and to increase the share with a tertiary level qualification.

Key findings: People with upper secondary education are overrepresented among the population without a migration background and in the population with a migration background from the second or subsequent generations. The population with a migration background belonging to the first generation has the highest rate of compulsory education and tertiary education.

Trends over time: Between 2012 and 2020, the share of persons without post-compulsory education has significantly decreased in all population groups. The same is true of upper secondary level education among the population without a migration background and the first generation. The rates of tertiary education have significantly increased in all populations studied.

Between 2022 and 2024, the share of persons with a level of education corresponding to compulsory education has stayed stable in all the population groups. The same observation applies to upper secondary education, with the exception of people without a migration background. The proportion of people with tertiary education has significantly increased for people without a migration background and those with a migration background of the first generation.

Major regions: The population without a migration background has widely varying rates between the different levels of education. Upper secondary level is the most common in all most major regions, with the exception of Zurich, followed by tertiary level and finally compulsory education.

In the population with a migration background, there is less variation. Tertiary level education dominates in three major regions: the Zurich region, the Lake Geneva region and Central Switzerland. Upper secondary is the most common level of education in Eastern Switzerland.