Comparability — Austria [top]

Austria does not report years of education, only levels. In 2011, the source variable for educational attainment is derived from the highest level completed based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) categories, which creates some differences for EEDATTAIN with respect to previous samples.

Only the 2011 Austria sample identifies persons with primary education, while none of the available samples distinguishes persons with less than primary school. Compulsory secondary school entails 9 years of education and is classified as lower secondary completed. Given its compulsory nature and the fact that the age universe excludes people likely to be attending primary or lower secondary, it is plausible to assume that most people actually completed at least lower secondary. This assumption is explicitly stated in the Austria enumeration instructions for the 1971-1991 samples. In 2011, it is possible to verify that only a small proportion of persons below the age of 65 years old declare primary education as their highest level attained (3% of cases on average).

Higher technical/vocational, intermediate technical/vocational, and apprenticeships are considered as upper secondary. None of these technical tracks are represented in Austria 2011. Both post-secondary technical/vocational courses and (academic non-university) intermediate degrees are coded as post-secondary technical education.

Comparability — Belarus [top]

Belarus does not report years of education, only level of education and whether it was completed. Belarus has a 5-year primary education system, and lower secondary is not identified. The vocational-technical secondary is considered as upper secondary, while the specialized secondary is classified as post-secondary technical education.

Comparability — Finland [top]

The 2010 census includes a category that combines persons with primary or unknown education, which may also encompass less than primary and those with lower secondary (that are not separately identified). This category is classified as "primary (first state of basic education) ", but it may over- or under-estimate educational attainment for specific respondents.

Tertiary education comprehends four different levels: the lowest level (2-3 years), lower degree level (3 years), higher degree level (5 years), and doctoral level (additional 2-4 years after completing the higher degree level). The lowest level is grouped with "upper secondary" while the other three are considered "university completed."

Comparability — France [top]

France reports only degrees earned, not years of schooling. The lowest level of education reported is a six-year degree under the old system (coded to primary) and a ten-year degree after the extension of compulsory education (coded to lower secondary).

Note: persons with no degree were to leave the census question blank for all years. Thus there is no way to distinguish between persons who simply did not respond to the question and those who had no degrees. All such persons are coded as "less than primary" in EEDATTAIN.

The 1982, 1990 and 1999 samples have two-year university degrees, which we have coded as "university completed."

The 2006 and 2011 samples identify persons who attended primary or middle school without receiving a certificate, who are coded as "some primary"; and persons who attended beyond middle school without getting a certificate, who are coded as "primary (6 years)".

Comparability — Germany [top]

Germany samples differ in the treatment of some educational levels due to the parallel education systems prior to the German unification. The 1970 and 1987 censuses correspond to the Federal Republic of Germany (West), while the 1971 and 1981 censuses correspond to the German Democratic Republic (East).

The age universes differ slightly across samples. The universe includes persons age 14 and older in 1981, 15 and older in 1970 and 1971, and age 15 to 64 in 1987.

Education is compulsory through age 14 or 15 in both countries, so completion of primary school usually implies the completion of at least 8th grade, but is coded to international standard for completion of primary school both West and East Germany. Two samples (GDR 1971 and FRG 1987) did not distinguish between people who attended primary school (grade not specified) and those who completed 8th grade. Given the compulsory nature of primary education and the fact that the age universe excludes people likely to be enrolled in primary school, people in the combined some primary/completed primary category are all assigned to the "completed primary" category.

Vocational training tracks are slightly different in the two German republics.

In the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), compulsory part-time vocational education is treated as a technical track of lower secondary, while full-time or advanced vocational training are treated as a technical track of upper secondary. Engineering or vocational college post secondary training, but through a system separate from university training and are coded to technical post-secondary training. For the FRG samples, university includes teacher colleges.

In the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the semi-skilled worker certificate is coded as a technical track of lower secondary, while the skilled worker certificate and the master craftsman certificate are coded as a technical track of upper secondary. As in the FRG, engineering and higher technical training college are coded to technical post-secondary.

Comparability — Greece [top]

Greece does not report years of education, only levels.

There are differences in the treatment of post-secondary education between 1971-1981 and 1991-2011. In the earlier years "completed university" includes any kind of post-secondary degree. In later years technical education is identified separately from university study.

Comparability — Hungary [top]

The structure of the educational system includes 1 year of pre-school education, 8 years of primary school, and 4 years of general secondary school.

In 2001 and 2011, the "primary" category actually identifies persons in the first cycle of secondary. They had at least 8 years of schooling, and many would qualify as completing lower secondary.

In 1980 and 1990, any higher elementary study after 8 years of primary is considered completion of lower secondary.

In 2011, the post-secondary non-tertiary education (ISCED 4) is categorized as "post-secondary technical education". In 1970-1990, post-secondary technical includes diplomas from a non-university institution.

The "university completed" category in 2011 corresponds to ISCED 5 and it may include occupational degrees.

Comparability — Ireland [top]

Information on educational attainment is derived from number of years completed within a given education level in 1971 and 1981, and from education level completed in other years.

In 1981 we consider 6 or more years as primary. In other census years, even though primary includes persons with no formal education, it is coded as primary. This assumption overestimates primary completion. In Ireland 1971 and 1981, we consider 3 to 5 years of secondary as "lower secondary" and 6 or more as "upper secondary". Similar criteria were used to classify persons declaring years of vocational education into the correspondent secondary vocational/technical tracks. In addition, persons with 4 or more years of tertiary education are considered to have "university completed". In the Ireland 1991-2016 censuses, the third level non-degree qualifications, which refer to persons who obtained a certificate/diploma not equivalent to a university degree, are classified as post-secondary technical education.

Comparability — Italy [top]

Primary indicates 5 years and lower secondary 8 years of study. General secondary education indicates a degree requiring 4 or 5 years of study after lower secondary; technical secondary requires 2 or 3 years after lower secondary.

In 2011, the category "less than primary completed" includes illiterate persons as well as persons who completed primary school at most. This creates a significant comparability issue with respect to 2001, as primary completed cannot be separately identified for this sample.

Comparability — Poland [top]

The education system in Poland changed in 1999 and categories do not equate well between 1978-1988 and 2002-2011. The categorization in 1978 is particularly problematic, as much detail in the original census was combined in the data in ways that are not well documented.

Before 1999, the education system comprised 8 years of primary, followed by secondary in either basic vocational (2-3 years), general secondary (4 years), or secondary vocational (4-5 years). After 1999, it included 6 years of primary, 3 years of lower secondary, and 2-4 years of upper secondary, which could be in a general or specialized track (3 years), technical track (4 years), or vocational track (2-3 years).

The 1978 and 1988 do not include a general track of lower secondary, as this level did not exist in the pre-1999 education system. In 2002 and 2011, persons with "lower secondary" or "general secondary without completion certificate" are classified in lower secondary. In all samples, the basic vocational education is considered as a technical track of lower secondary.

In 1978, the general track of upper secondary completed may include persons with some secondary or post-secondary education.

Comparability — Portugal [top]

The education system in Portugal underwent a reform in the 1990's but it maintained a 4-2-3-3 structure before and after this change. Based on this structure, it was possible to consistently identify 6-year primary school attainment, as well as lower and upper secondary completion. Completion of upper secondary school indicates 12 years of study.

Post-secondary technical education is only recorded in 1981 and 1991, and 2011.

Comparability — Romania [top]

Romania had a 4-4-4 or a 4-5-4 system. Primary education has 4 years. Lower secondary was expanded from 4 to 5 years in 1999 (grades 5-9). Upper secondary lasts 3 to 4 years (grades 10-12/13) and it has academic, vocational, and technical tracks.

The Romanian samples provide educational level completed, but not individual years. The 4-year primary level is coded to the "less than primary" grouping. The 8-year level is coded to lower secondary, thus no internationally comparable "primary" level is identified.

The 2002 sample identifies 2-year (associates) college degrees, which are coded to "upper secondary."

Comparability — Russia [top]

The education system in Russia follows a 4-5-2 structure. Primary education comprises four grades (1st to 4th) and persons who completed this level are coded to less than primary. Therefore, it is not possible to identify a primary level for the Russia samples.

The basic and secondary vocational are both classified as having completed upper secondary, similarly to persons who indicate that they have not graduated from higher education.

Comparability — Slovenia [top]

All persons with less than basic education (8 years of schooling) are grouped together and are coded as "less than primary." The 8-year basic degree is coded to lower secondary therefore no "primary" level is identified for the sample.

Comparability — Spain [top]

The Spanish samples do not report years of educational attainment, only levels. Lower secondary refers to people who completed general (compulsory) basic education (EGB, in Spanish). Until the 1991 census sample, EGB was completed at 14 years of age (after 8 years of education). After the 2001 census sample, the old system coexists with one where the last stage of EGB (equivalent to middle school) was replaced by ESO (compulsory secondary education, in Spanish), which was completed at 16 years of age (after 10 years of education). Both are recorded under the lower secondary completed category.

The 1981 sample does not distinguish between technical and academic degrees at the high school (secondary) level. The 1991, 2001, and 2011 samples distinguish between first-level technician (intermediate) and second-level technician (higher) degrees, where the former is considered as completing a secondary technical degree (upper secondary) while the latter is regarded as completing a post-secondary (non-tertiary) technical degree. The 1991 sample includes a separate category for 'other mid-level degrees' that we consider to be equivalent to the first-level technician degrees. The category for some college or university for this sample includes both 4-year college as well as associate and technical students.

Comparability — Switzerland [top]

In 1970-2000, Switzerland does not report years of education, only levels. For basic education, the samples do not identify completion of primary or secondary school, thus persons with mandatory schooling completed are classified as upper secondary completed. We also classify persons who completed trade school, an apprenticeship, or teacher training school as upper secondary because they are considered to hold a secondary technical degree. Those with higher professional school education are classified as having post-secondary non-tertiary education.

In 2011, Switzerland reported more detailed information on the highest education completed. Persons whose educational attainment was up to 7 years of compulsory education are classified as "primary" completed, and this classification can overestimate educational attainment for respondents who did not complete primary education.
The sample reports the upper secondary level separately from mandatory education. Thus, persons with mandatory education are classified as ''lower secondary'' completed while those who completed upper secondary education are classified as "upper secondary'' completed.

Comparability — Turkey [top]

Turkey reports levels of education but not years within level. The education system in Turkey changed from a 5-3-3 or 5-3-4 to an 8-3 or 8-4 structure in 1997. Both the 5-years primary under the old system and the 8-years basic education under the new system are classified as primary level. Higher education includes both technical and university options and was coded as "university completed". This may overestimate educational attainment for persons with technical studies.

Comparability — Ukraine [top]

Ukraine does not report years of education, only levels. It has a 4-5-2 system comprising 4 years of primary (grades 1 to 4), 5 years of basic secondary (grades 5 to 9), and 2 years of senior secondary (grades 10 to 11).

Primary general is coded as "less than primary" and basic secondary as "lower secondary", thus no "primary" level is identified for this sample. Initial higher education and incomplete higher education are considered "post-secondary non-tertiary", even though this last assumption may underestimate educational attainment for those pursuing university studies. Enumeration instructions provide equivalences with past education structures prevalent in Ukraine but classification was performed following their current system.