OTTAWA - A new study has found Canadians' education levels are outpacing those of many countries.
Statistics Canada reports 92 per cent of adults aged 25 to 34 had completed secondary school as of 2009 compared with 80 per cent of those aged 55 to 64.
The 12-percentage-point gap was smaller than the average across the 34 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, where the proportions stood at 81-61.
StatsCan also says the proportion of adults aged 25 to 64 with a college diploma or a university degree rose to 50 per cent from 39 per cent between 1999 and 2009, outpacing the average OECD increase.
Canada's employment rate for adults aged 25 to 64 who had not completed secondary education was 55 per cent in 2009, while the rate for graduates of college and university programs was 82 per cent.
Canada devoted six per cent of its gross domestic product to educational institutions in 2007, about the same share as the OECD average.
About 42 per cent of that share of GDP went to college and university programs, the highest among the OECD countries.
