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Statistics on
Credits and graduations from higher education
The statistics on graduations and credits from higher education include all completed degrees and credits attained during the period from October 1 to September 30. Completed degrees and credits attained from abroad are not included.
Selected figures from these statistics
- Graduations and credits awarded by universities and colleges in NorwayDownload table as ...Graduations and credits awarded by universities and colleges in Norway
2014-2015 2024-2025 Total Female share Total Female share Graduations Total 45 800 61.0 60 130 60.5 Of which Short 31 074 63.3 35 180 60.1 Long 13 319 56.8 23 125 61.6 Doctoral studies 1 407 52.0 1 825 53.4 Total number of students 284 846 59.5 319 780 61.0 Credits awarded, per cent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0 credits 14.6 12.3 13.4 12.2 1-29 credits 20.0 20.0 17.9 17.8 30-59 credits 27.6 28.5 28.1 28.8 60 credits or more 37.9 39.2 40.5 41.2 Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ... - Field of education and level for graduations in higher educationDownload table as ...Field of education and level for graduations in higher education
2014-2015 2024-2025 Total Percentage women Total Percentage women Level of degree and field of education Total 45 800 61.0 60 130 60.5 Tertiary education, short and medium1 31 074 63.3 35 180 60.1 Humanities and arts 2 366 61.2 2 720 62.7 Education 6 627 73.2 4 260 71.7 Social sciences and law 2 816 65.2 4 465 65.2 Business and administration 5 092 56.3 7 325 52.0 Natural sciences, vocational and technical subjects 4 405 28.5 5 785 31.6 Health, welfare and sport 8 175 83.4 8 770 80.7 Primary industries 160 53.8 245 51.0 Transport and communications, safety and security and other services 1 282 33.0 1 445 37.4 Unspecified field of study 151 53.6 165 60.6 Tertiary education, long2 13 319 56.8 23 125 61.6 Humanities and arts 1 443 60.4 1 595 62.1 Education 1 343 79.2 4 115 74.5 Social sciences and law 2 468 61.6 3 425 67.9 Business and administration 2 371 48.5 3 830 50.7 Natural sciences, vocational and technical subjects 3 208 37.3 5 275 40.9 Health, welfare and sport 2 219 74.3 4 310 82.3 Primary industries 123 52.0 150 56.7 Transport and communications, safety and security and other services 144 30.6 425 32.9 Unspecified field of study - . 0 . Doctoral studies3 1 407 52.0 1 825 53.4 Humanities and arts 144 51.4 150 66.7 Education 45 80.0 90 66.7 Social sciences and law 178 61.2 235 66.0 Business and administration 38 36.8 85 52.9 Natural sciences, vocational and technical subjects 535 38.3 705 36.9 Health, welfare and sport 456 62.9 540 63.9 Primary industries - . 15 66.7 Transport and communications, safety and security and other services 11 54.5 5 0.0 Unspecified field of study - . 0 . 1Including graduations from programmes 4 years or less but also 2 years or longer. 2Including graduations from programmes longer than 4 years. Awarded doctoral degrees are not included. 3Doctoral degrees Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ... - Immigration category and field of education for graduations in higher educationDownload table as ...Immigration category and field of education for graduations in higher education
2024-2025 Total Immigrants Norwegian-born to immigrant parents Other population Per cent Total Immigrants Norwegian-born to immigrant parents Other population Total 60 130 8 380 2 845 48 905 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Humanities and arts 4 465 950 115 3 400 7.4 11.3 4.0 7.0 Education 8 470 845 370 7 255 14.1 10.1 13.0 14.8 Social sciences and law 8 125 1 055 420 6 650 13.5 12.6 14.8 13.6 Business and administration 11 240 1 255 525 9 460 18.7 15.0 18.5 19.3 Natural sciences, vocational and technical subjects 11 765 2 200 740 8 825 19.6 26.3 26.0 18.0 Health, welfare and sport 13 615 1 855 585 11 175 22.6 22.1 20.6 22.9 Primary industries 410 35 0 375 0.7 0.4 0.0 0.8 Transport and communications, safety and security and other services 1 875 165 90 1 620 3.1 2.0 3.2 3.3 Unspecified field of study 165 20 0 145 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.3 Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ... - Age groups and level of degree for graduations in higher educationDownload table as ...Age groups and level of degree for graduations in higher education
2014-2015 2023-2024 2024-2025 Graduates Percentage women Graduates Percentage women Graduates Percentage women Level and age Total 45 800 61.0 58 757 59.7 60 130 60.5 Tertiary education, short and medium1 31 074 63.3 34 586 59.8 35 180 60.1 19-24 years 17 060 65.6 20 658 61.2 20 745 61.4 25-29 years 7 335 56.0 7 814 54.4 8 025 54.6 30-34 years 2 635 61.8 2 684 58.0 2 680 60.4 35-39 years 1 537 66.5 1 512 64.0 1 610 63.0 40-44 years 1 241 70.1 909 68.9 935 66.3 45-49 years 743 70.8 525 61.3 625 67.2 50-54 years 367 64.3 309 62.1 365 63.0 55-59 years 116 52.6 132 69.7 150 70.0 60 years or older 40 60.0 43 32.6 45 55.6 Tertiary education, long2 13 319 56.8 22 352 60.2 23 125 61.6 19-24 years 3 123 55.9 5 476 61.1 5 600 64.2 25-29 years 6 137 54.4 10 037 56.0 10 210 56.9 30-34 years 1 487 53.7 2 638 58.5 2 740 59.9 35-39 years 761 61.2 1 498 65.0 1 630 65.6 40-44 years 647 67.2 1 071 67.8 1 140 69.3 45-49 years 547 66.4 800 76.9 890 73.0 50-54 years 364 67.9 547 76.6 630 76.2 55-59 years 183 72.7 219 74.4 235 76.6 60 years or older 70 47.1 66 60.6 50 60.0 Second stage of tertiary education3 1 407 52.0 1 819 54.5 1 825 53.4 25-29 years 194 43.3 287 44.9 290 43.1 30-34 years 445 46.5 628 50.2 635 48.0 35-39 years 316 55.1 372 52.4 365 53.4 40-44 years 184 59.8 227 61.7 220 65.9 45-49 years 128 60.9 145 69.7 145 65.5 50-54 years 66 63.6 85 69.4 100 60.0 55-59 years 43 53.5 45 80.0 50 70.0 60 years or older 31 41.9 30 56.7 20 75.0 1Including graduations from programmes 4 years or less but also 2 years or longer. 2Including graduations from programmes longer than 4 years. Awarded doctoral degrees are not included. 3Doctoral degrees Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ... - Parents’ level of education and level of degree for graduations in higher educationDownload table as ...Parents’ level of education and level of degree for graduations in higher education
2014-2015 2023-2024 2024-2025 Total Total Total Level and parents´level of education Total 45 800 58 757 60 130 Tertiary education, 4 years or less1 31 074 34 586 35 180 Mother or father has long tertiary education 3 795 5 949 6 255 Mother or father has short tertiary education 11 116 13 755 14 110 Mother or father has upper secondary education 12 354 10 880 10 500 Mother or father has primary and lower secondary education 2 089 1 908 2 010 Not stated 1 720 2 094 2 305 Tertiary education, more than 4 years2 13 319 22 352 23 125 Mother or father has long tertiary education 2 733 4 869 5 140 Mother or father has short tertiary education 4 508 8 045 8 480 Mother or father has upper secondary education 3 483 5 638 5 875 Mother or father has primary and lower secondary education 508 772 790 Not stated 2 087 3 028 2 840 Doctoral studies3 1 407 1 819 1 825 Mother or father has long tertiary education 325 380 385 Mother or father has short tertiary education 294 384 355 Mother or father has upper secondary education 251 198 215 Mother or father has primary and lower secondary education 42 32 25 Not stated 495 825 845 1Including graduations from programmes 4 years or less but also 2 years or longer. 2Including graduations from programmes longer than 4 years. Awarded doctoral degrees are not included 3Doctoral degrees Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ...
About the statistics
The information under «About the statistics» was last updated 9 April 2026.
Completed education
A student is considered to have completed an education when the educational institution has issued a diploma or somehow approved that he/she has fulfilled the requirements for completing the education in question.
Credits points
Students are awarded with credits when they have met the requirements for passing a course.
Students
Students er registered students as of October 1st, as well as students who are awarded with credits in the course of a school year.
Academic year
A full academic year corresponds to 60 credits at universities and colleges in Norway.
Age
Estimated as of December 31.
Type of institution
According to the Standard Industrial Classification. The institutions are classified as Universities, Specialized University Institutions, and University Colleges, where University Colleges are again divided into three main groups: State University Colleges, Military Colleges and “other university colleges.”
Educational activity
According to the Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (NUS2000). Programmes are classified according to their level and field of study. In tables of completed credits, field of study for the education where the student earned the most credits is used.
Lower level (short)
Students at the lower level (short) in higher education include:
- Programmes at universities and university colleges with a duration of four years or less, such as bachelor’s programmes, basic and intermediate level courses, the cand.mag. degree, university college candidate programmes, and engineering programmes offered by university colleges.
- Examinations or components that award credits (study points) and are an integrated part of a tertiary study programme or degree.
- Foreign education programmes of four years or less, including both complete degrees and individual courses.
- Non-degree programmes at the master’s level, such as single-course enrolments and one-year units.
For a complete classification of lower-level programmes, see the Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (NUS2000) (page 10 - in Norwegian only).
Higher level (long)
Students at the higher level (long) in higher education include:
- Programmes at universities and university colleges with a duration of more than four years, such as master’s programmes, advanced degree programmes (hovedfag), the magister degree, civil engineering programmes, and professional study programmes.
- Foreign education programmes with a duration of more than four years.
For a complete classification of lower-level programmes, see the Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (NUS2000) (page 10 - in Norwegian only).
Highest educational attainment of parents
Parental educational attainment is divided into four categories:
- Primary and lower secondary education
- Upper secondary education
- Higher education, short (at least two years, but also 4 years or less)
- Higher education, long (more than four years).
Parental educational attainment is defined by that of the parents with the highest level of education. For example, if the parental educational attainment of a student is “(3) Higher education, short,” it implies that at least one of the parents has education at this level. Cases where there is no information on the level of education of any of the parents falls into the “Unspecified” group. See also the definitions of educational level.
Immigrants
Persons born abroad of two foreign-born parents and four foreign-born grandparents.
Norwegian-born to immigrant parents
Persons who are born in Norway of two parents born abroad, and in addition have four grandparents born abroad.
Country background
Constructed on the basis of information about the country of birth for three generations and refers to private, or mother's, or father's, or grandparents' foreign country of birth. For people born abroad this is (with few exceptions) their own native land. For people born in Norway this is their parents' country of birth. In cases where the parents have different countries of birth, the mother's country of birth is chosen.
Educational activities are grouped by the Norwegian Standard Classification of Education which was established in 1970 by Statistics Norway and later revised in 1973, 1989 and 2000. Educational institutions are classified as being higher education by the Standard Industrial Classification.
For international purposes, the ISCED 2011 is used (International Standard Classification of Education).
Name: Credits and graduations from higher education
Topic: Education
Division for Education and Culture Statistics
Figures are presented at national level, at municipal level and by educational institution. Data on enrolment in higher education include information that makes it possible to provide figures at other regional levels.
Figures are published annually in April. As of 2015, data on credit points was merged with data on graduations from univercsties and colleges. Prior to 2015, data on credit points was published separately.
The data is provided for UNESCO, OECD and Eurostat (U-O-E).
Collected and revised data are stored securely by Statistics Norway in compliance with applicable legislation on data processing.
Statistics Norway can grant access to the source data (de-identified or anonymised microdata) on which the statistics are based, for researchers and public authorities for the purposes of preparing statistical results and analyses. Access can be granted upon application and subject to conditions. Refer to the details about this at Access to data from Statistics Norway.
Statistics Norway can deliver supplementary data and tables related to these statistics. To order supplementary data and tables, please contact Statistics Norway: oppdragutdanning@ssb.no. The price will depend on the size of the order.
The system for assuring the quality of Norwegian official statistics is based on quality requirements in the Statistics Act and in the European Statistics Code of Practice.The annual report on the quality of official statistics assesses compliance with the quality requirements for all official statistics as a whole.
The National programme for official statistics sets the framework for the areas Statistics Norway and other public authorities produce statistics on. The programme defines and outlines official statistics.
Further information about the system for quality in official statistics can be found at ssb.no
There is a high demand for the collection of official statistics on education. Official education statistics are individual-based and document the educational activities of all Norwegian residents from completion of lower secondary school to completion of all higher education including doctoral/PhD studies.
Norway’s education statistics went through a structural readjustment in the beginning of the 1970s. All statistics on higher education were previously available through a census. The data is now individual-based, where all educational activities are attached to each individual’s personal ID-number. The data is contained in the National Education Database (NUDB), in a format that allows the production of different kinds of education statistics and alignment with other types of individual-based statistics where necessary (e.g. income, social-welfare).
The purpose of the statistics is to present individually based statistics of graduates and attained credit points in higher education in Norway.
Important users of the education statistics are the Ministry of Education and Research, public administration, researchers, special interest organisations, international organisations (Eurostat, OECD and UNESCO), media, business and industry. In addition, data is used internally in Statistics Norway in publications and in assignments.
No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 8:00 AM. Prior to this, a minimum of three months’ advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of Statistics Norway’s key principles for ensuring that all users are treated equally.
Data from higher education is combined with data from lower and upper secondary education when revision processes are complete. Data is then stored as single annual files in the National Education Database (NUDB). Statistics Norway uses a similar system for all individually based statistics, making it easy to combine education statistics with other statistics. Labour market statistics, health statistics, living conditions statistics and income and wage statistics are examples of other individually based statistics compiled by Statistics Norway.
There are two areas of statistics in Statistics Norway (SSB) that include completed doctoral degrees: (1) Research and innovation, and in the statistics on research personnel, and (2) Education, and statistics on educational attainment of the population, statistics on credits and graduations from higher education and statistics on completion rates of students in higher education.
All these statistics are based on the reporting of doctoral degrees by educational institutions to the Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir.). There are some differences in how the data is presented in these statistics. The various statistics in the education area are published according to the academic year, while the statistics on research personnel use the calendar year. Furthermore, the education-related statistics use the Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (NUS2000) to assign a field of study to completed doctoral degrees, whereas the statistics on research personnel assign each doctoral degree a discipline code based on the Norwegian classification of scientific disciplines (in Norwegian only) (hkdir.no).
The statistics are developed, produced and disseminated pursuant to Act no. 32 of 21 June 2019 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act).
Commission Regulation (EU) No 88/2011 of 2 February 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 452/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning, as regards statistics on education and training systems.
The statistics on graduations from higher education institutions include all completed degrees and credits attained during the period from October 1 to September 30.
Statistics on credits cover students enrolled as of 1 October, as well as students who have earned credits— including zero credits—during the period from 1 October to 30 September. Norwegian students studying abroad are not included.
Only educational institutions classified by the Standard Industrial Classification as a higher education institution are included. Educational institutions are grouped as Universities, Specialised University Institutions and University Colleges.
Pursuant to the Statistical Act, Statistics Norway collects data on attained credit points and graduations from Database for Statistics on Higher Education (DBH) and the administrative systems of various higher education institutions. Information on completed doctoral degrees/PhD is included.
Surveys are not employed to collect education statistics.
Data collection
Pursuant to the Statistical Act (June 1989, No. 54), Statistics Norway collects student data from Database for Statistics on Higher Education (DBH).
Editing
Editing includes both control and revision and is performed on all educational data collected. It encompasses deletion of duplicate records, a control for correct and valid values for each variable, comparisons with last year’s data and checks for missing information. Several variables are re-coded to comply with control programs run by Statistics Norway. Personal ID-numbers are referenced against Statistics Norway’s population database to check for errors. At last, duplicate students are deleted, which implies that a student can only be counted once although the student may be registered for several educational activities or educational institutions at the same time.
Estimation
No estimation is performed. The statistics are based on data obtained from university and college databases.
Interviewers and everyone who works at Statistics Norway have a duty of confidentiality. Statistics Norway has its own data protection officer.
Statistics Norway does not publish figures where there is a risk of identifying individual data about persons. Before 2024/2025 the suppression method was used in these statistics to ensure this. From 2024/2025 onwards, the figures have been adjusted and rounded to the nearest number divisible by five.
More information can be found on Statistics Norway’s website under Methods in official statistics, in the ‘Confidentiality’ section.
Individual-based data on completed education has been published annually since it was first collected in the academic year 1973/74. Most variables are comparable, but some have changed. The Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (NUS2000) has been revised to secure comparability over time.
While educational variables are reasonably comparable over time, other variables, e.g. various institution types, cannot be re-coded and thus are not comparable over time. Credit points variables are complete from the academic year 2004/05 onwards.
For some school years, the total number of students by type of institution is not comparable, as some educational institutions have changed their institutional category. Read more about changes in higher education institutions here(in Norwegian).
Statistical investigations may encounter various sources of error. The errors can occur either during data collection (in this case, during registration at the higher education institution) or during data processing (control and revision processes performed by Statistics Norway).
Overestimation of student numbers could occur for universities where registration occurs with payment of registration fees rather than enrolment in subjects. An overestimation of student numbers leads to an overestimation of the proportion of students who do not complete any credit points during the academic year. Students themselves can also provide inaccurate information to the registers.
Inaccuracies in graduation statistics may occur when administrative registers wrongly define a student as meeting the requirements for completing a degree. In some cases, the diploma could be issued later than the actual time of completion, which leads to the degree being registered at an inaccurate time.
Regarding the registration of credit points, there may be cases of institutions or study programs where credits are only registered when the entire program is completed. In this case, a student could be registered with zero credits in the first years and registered with total credits (for example 180 credits) in the last year.
A revision is a planned change to figures that have already been published, for example when releasing final figures as a follow-up to published preliminary figures. See also Statistics Norway’s principles for revisions.
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Relatert innhold
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