What share of tertiary graduates complete programmes in the Services field? World Bank indicator SE.TER.GRAD.SV.ZS measures the percentage of all tertiary graduates in the reference year who graduated from programmes classified in the Services field, with both sexes combined. It is a field-of-study statistic, not a measure of the size of the service economy.
The dataset retains the latest non-null observation for 159 countries and separately reported economies, but the reference years range from 2000 to 2020. Only one row is dated 2020, while 57 are dated 2018 and 34 are dated 2019. The map is therefore a latest-available snapshot rather than a synchronized 2020 ranking. A separate comparison below focuses on the 92 observations dated 2018–2020.
Table of Contents
Services is a broad education field, not simply hospitality or the service sector
In UNESCO’s ISCED-F 2013 classification, Services is broad field 10. It includes personal services such as hotel, restaurant and catering programmes, travel, tourism and leisure, sports, hair and beauty, and domestic services. The same broad field also includes hygiene and occupational health services, security and defence-related services, and transport services.
The denominator is all tertiary graduates in the reference year. The numerator is the graduates whose programmes fall within the Services field. A value of 10% therefore means that roughly one in ten tertiary graduates in that observation year completed a Services-field programme. It does not mean that 10% of the population studied services, that 10% of workers are in service-sector jobs, or that services produce 10% of GDP.
Latest available does not mean same-year data
Among the 159 latest observations, 2018 is the most common reference year with 57 rows and 2019 follows with 34. There are 18 observations from 2017, 15 from 2016, and only one from 2020. Two values on the same map may therefore refer to different stages of a country’s higher-education system.
That time spread makes a precise league table inappropriate. A country whose latest value is from the early 2000s should not be presented as if it describes the same period as a 2019 observation. The full map is useful for coverage and broad patterns; the 2018–2020 subset offers a somewhat more recent, though still not perfectly synchronized, comparison.
Among 2018–2020 observations, the median share is about 3.2%
Restricting the data to the 92 observations dated 2018–2020 produces an unweighted median of 3.18% and a mean of 3.94%. Eighteen observations are below 1%, 26 fall from 1% to under 3%, 19 from 3% to under 5%, 26 from 5% to under 10%, and three are at 10% or above. These are country-row statistics, not a population- or graduate-weighted global rate.
Within this recent subset, Macao SAR, China records 18.5% in 2019 and Montenegro 16.1% in 2019. Bermuda is 12.0% in 2018, Chile 9.2% in 2018, Seychelles 8.5% in 2019, Bulgaria 8.5% in 2018 and Serbia 8.5% in 2019. These observations come from education systems of very different size and structure, so a larger percentage should not be interpreted as better educational performance.
| Country/economy | Reference year | Services-field share |
|---|---|---|
| Macao SAR, China | 2019 | 18.5% |
| Montenegro | 2019 | 16.1% |
| Bermuda | 2018 | 12.0% |
| Chile | 2018 | 9.2% |
| Seychelles | 2019 | 8.5% |
| Bulgaria | 2018 | 8.5% |
| Serbia | 2019 | 8.5% |
| Russian Federation | 2018 | 8.4% |
| Ukraine | 2019 | 8.3% |
| Malaysia | 2019 | 8.3% |
Korea is close to 10% in 2017, but major economies have different reference years
The Republic of Korea has a latest retained observation of 9.96% in 2017. The United States is 6.46% in 2016, France 3.95% in 2018, Mexico 3.09% in 2017, Brazil 2.74% in 2018, Canada 2.71% in 2018, Germany 2.46% in 2018 and Australia 1.76% in 2018. India is 0.28% in 2019 and South Africa 0.53% in 2018.
| Country | Reference year | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Korea, Rep. | 2017 | 9.96% |
| United States | 2016 | 6.46% |
| France | 2018 | 3.95% |
| Mexico | 2017 | 3.09% |
| Brazil | 2018 | 2.74% |
| Canada | 2018 | 2.71% |
| Germany | 2018 | 2.46% |
| Australia | 2018 | 1.76% |
| South Africa | 2018 | 0.53% |
| India | 2019 | 0.28% |
| United Kingdom | 2016 | 0.08% |
| Indonesia | 2018 | 0.00% |
Mainland China and Japan do not have country rows in this 159-observation extract, so they should not be assigned a zero value. An unfilled map area can reflect missing data or a boundary-matching limitation. Indonesia, by contrast, has a reported row with a value of 0.00% in 2018, which is different from a missing observation. Very low and zero values are best read alongside the reporting year and national classification context.
A high share does not mean a larger service economy
This indicator describes the composition of tertiary graduates by field of study. It does not measure services value added, service-sector employment, labour demand or graduate employment outcomes. A country can have a very large service economy but a modest percentage of tertiary graduates in ISCED Services programmes, while another can have a higher graduate share because tourism, transport, security, occupational-safety or other service-related programmes occupy a larger place in its education system.
ISCED-F provides an international framework for comparing fields of study, but national programme names and institutional structures are not identical. Similar programmes may be placed in universities, colleges, vocational institutions or specialized academies in different countries. Broad differences are more informative than treating small percentage gaps as a precise ranking of national education systems.
Across all 159 latest observations, the median is 2.8%
Using all 159 latest values, the unweighted median is 2.81% and the mean is 3.59%. The first quartile is 0.71% and the third quartile 5.31%. Twenty-six rows report 0%, while the maximum is Macao SAR, China at 18.51% in 2019. Because the full set mixes observations from 2000 through 2020, these summary statistics describe the distribution of the retained data rather than a current global average.
Three checks make the indicator easier to interpret
- Denominator: all tertiary graduates in the reference year, not the total population.
- Field definition: Services is ISCED-F broad field 10, covering personal services, hygiene and occupational health, security and transport services.
- Reference year: latest observations span 2000–2020, so the map should not be presented as a single-year ranking.
Data source and comparison method
The numeric source is World Bank World Development Indicators, SE.TER.GRAD.SV.ZS, based on education statistics from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The meaning of the field is interpreted using the UNESCO ISCED framework and the ISCED-F 2013 Services classification.
For the world map, ISO-3 codes were joined to a low-resolution country boundary layer; 131 polygons were matched to values. The source data also contain small islands and separately reported economies that are not represented as distinct polygons in that boundary layer. Gray or unfilled areas therefore include missing or unmatched observations and must not automatically be interpreted as 0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What programmes are included in the Services field?
Under UNESCO ISCED-F, Services includes personal services such as hospitality, tourism and sports, as well as hygiene and occupational health, security and defence-related services, and transport services.
Can this be read as a 2020 country ranking?
No. The 159 latest observations span 2000–2020, and only one row is dated 2020. Reference years should be read alongside the percentages.
Does a higher value mean the country has a larger service economy?
No. The indicator measures the share of tertiary graduates completing Services-field programmes, not services employment or services value added in GDP.
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