Recommended by the EU, this indicator shows the distribution of educational resources among the different population groups living in Switzerland. It is an essential indicator for structural integration and equality of opportunity in the education system. The level of education a person completes forms the base for their future participation in the education system and on the labour market. The chances of integrating are slim if no education has been completed. The higher the level of education completed, the better the other structural opportunities for integration.
In the permanent resident population in 2020, the highest level of education is upper secondary level education (47%), followed by tertiary level (36%) and lastly, compulsory education level (17%). The fact should be taken into account, however, that many people aged between 15 and 30 are still in education and have therefore not yet reached their highest level of education.
The population without a migration background shows a large variation between different levels of education: 52% of them obtain upper secondary level, 36% tertiary, and 12% compulsory education. Among persons with a migration background from the first generation, the distribution between the three educational levels was fairly even (between 26% for compulsory education and 36% for tertiary education). In the population with a migration background from the second or subsequent generations, the rates were close for persons with compulsory education (20%) and tertiary level (30%) as highest level. Nevertheless, the rate of persons with an upper secondary level was higher (50%).