Rising educational attainment is most strongly reflected in the increases in tertiary attainment rates over the past few decades. On average across OECD countries with available trend data, the share of 25-34 year-olds with a tertiary degree (i.e. short-cycle tertiary, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral or equivalent) has increased from 27% in 2000 to 48% in 2021 (). These increases mean a tertiary qualification has become the most common level of attainment among younger adults on average across OECD countries. If current trends continue, tertiary attainment will overtake upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment as the most common level of educational attainment among the entire working-age population in the near future as the current group of 25-34 year-olds age and younger cohorts with higher levels of tertiary attainment enter the workforce. Tertiary attainment is already becoming the norm among young adults in many OECD countries. In 14 OECD countries, more than half of all 25-34 year-olds have a tertiary degree, rising to at least two-thirds in Canada and Korea. Italy and Mexico are the only OECD countries where tertiary attainment among younger adults is below 30% ().

Across OECD countries, a little over half of 18-24 year-olds are still in formal education, either full- or part-time. Almost one-third of these students are also pursuing some form of employment (). In some cases, students’ jobs are connected to their study programme, allowing them to gain relevant work experience, develop technical skills and connect with potential employers. Programmes that involve paid work as part of the curriculum (referred to as “work-study programmes” in ) are particularly common in Germany and Switzerland, where many professional qualifications follow an upper secondary vocational qualification and are pursued in parallel with employment in the relevant sector (OECD, 2022[2]). In Australia and Norway, working while studying is common among 18-24 year-olds, but their employment is typically not connected to the programme (e.g. a student job in a restaurant). In Iceland, the Netherlands and New Zealand students also commonly combine work and study, but the data do not distinguish between work-study programmes and other types of employment (). Even where it is not part of the curriculum, such employment may still be valuable in developing broad employability skills, like team work and conflict management, thereby facilitating the transition into employment. Data from the European Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) show that tertiary graduates who pursued work experience outside the curriculum during their studies had higher employment rates than those who gained no work experience while studying (OECD, 2022[2]).

Educational attainment and employment rates are strongly correlated. Upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is often seen as the minimum educational attainment for successful labour-market participation for most individuals (OECD, 2021[3]). There is a large increase in employment rates among 25-64 year-olds with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment compared to those with below upper secondary attainment. On average, only 58% of individuals with below upper secondary attainment are employed in OECD countries, but 75% of individuals with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment are employed. The employment rate among those with tertiary attainment is even higher, at 85%, but the difference in employment rates between upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary attainment is smaller than the difference between below upper secondary and upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment ().

Higher levels of educational attainment carry greater earnings advantages. On average across OECD countries, 25-64 year-old workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment earn 29% more than those with only below upper secondary attainment. This earnings premium ranges from below 10% in Estonia and Latvia to above 45% in Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica ().

More and more everyday activities are moving on line, and access to the Internet has become essential in the digital age. On average across OECD countries participating in the EU Survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals (EU-ICT), 93% of households reported having access to the Internet in 2021 or the most recent year data were available. This share does not vary much across countries: ranging from 85% in Greece to 99% in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Countries not covered by the EU-ICT survey also show comparable level of Internet access within households: 84% in Israel, 89% in the United States and 95% in Canada ().

Adult learning, also known as lifelong learning, can help individuals progress in their careers, and adapt to a fast-changing and uncertain world. This indicator looks at the adult learning without taking into account the labour force status of the individuals. Adult learning often takes the form of non-formal and/or informal education and training, in contrast to participation in formal education, which is more common among young people (). Although participation in formal education and training was largely stable between the first quarter of 2019 and the fourth quarter of 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic clearly affected participation in non-formal education and training. A dip in the third quarter of each year reflects a natural decline in participation rates during this period (the summer months in most OECD countries). However, in 2020 the drop occurred earlier, in the second quarter of the year reflecting the impact of the pandemic ().