Our universities may be the pride of the world. But we’re pretty typical when it comes to graduating kids from them.
Looking only at vocational degrees paints a similar picture (although many countries have almost no vocational higher education to speak of):
And looking at academic degrees isn’t much different:
Finally, we can look at the far rarer “advanced research” degrees, which once again tell the same story:
Source: OECD (p. 69 of pdf)
Disclaimers: 2010 data. We’re looking at the percentage of the population completing each type of degree. Also, I’m crudely translating the OECD’s distinction between “Type A” and “Type B” postsecondary degrees as “academic” vs. “vocational.” The OECD specifies that Type A degrees are “theory-based” and last 3-4 years, while Type B are more professionally-based and shorter in duration.
What is the y-axis on these plots?