A larger share of young Filipinos are completing college compared to the generation before them, according to data from UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report 2026.
About 34.6% of Filipinos aged 25 to 34 have attained tertiary education — nearly 11 percentage points higher than the 23.2% recorded among those aged 45 to 54. Both figures exceed the global averages for their respective age groups, which stand at 23.8% for the younger bracket and 15.2% for the older one.
The data, sourced from UNESCO’s “Access and Equity – Countdown to 2030” report, places the Philippines sixth among 13 Asian countries surveyed, ahead of Vietnam (25.7%), Thailand (25.5%), Myanmar (20.1%), Indonesia (17.8%), Laos (16.0%), Cambodia (13.7%), and Timor-Leste (1.6%) in the 25–34 age group.
Singapore and South Korea lead the region by a wide margin, with 83.2% and 81.2% of their young adults, respectively, holding tertiary qualifications.
The Philippines’ intergenerational gain of 11.4 percentage points in college completion reflects a broader regional trend, with most countries in the survey showing significant improvements among younger cohorts compared to their predecessors.
