Highest level of qualification from the 2021 Census

The raw data from this Census release has been processed by the Population Insight Team and is also available on Surrey-i.

The Office for National Statistics produced interactive maps for the 2021 Census results. The ONS interactive map of the highest level of qualification statistics have been embedded at the bottom of this page.

Surrey residents were asked to record any qualifications (including academic, vocational, and professional qualifications) they had achieved in England, Wales or worldwide. This was used to calculate the highest level of qualification (so, the highest level of qualification that an individual reported irrespective of previous qualifications listed) using the following categories:

• 12.9% of residents had no qualifications: no formal qualifications
• 8.4% of residents had Level 1: one to four GCSE passes (grade A* to C or grade 4 and above) and any other GCSEs at other grades, or equivalent qualifications
• 13.1% of residents had Level 2: five or more GCSE passes (grade A* to C or grade 4 and above) or equivalent qualifications
• 4.2% of residents had an apprenticeship
• 16.5% of residents had Level 3: two or more A Levels or equivalent qualifications
• 42.4% of residents had Level 4 or above: Higher National Certificate, Higher National Diploma, Bachelor’s degree, or post-graduate qualifications
• 2.5% of residents had other qualifications, of unknown level

Highest level of qualification within Surrey residents, 2021

On average, at the time of the 2021 Census, Surrey residents were more educated than the South East and England. Surrey residents were much more likely to have the highest levels of qualifications at 42.4 per cent with Level 4 or above (including Bachelor’s degrees or higher, Higher National Certificate, or Higher National Diploma) than the South East (35.8%) and England (33.9%). At the other end, a lower proportion of Surrey residents also reported that they had no qualifications (12.9%) than the South East (15.4%) and England (18.1%).

Highest level of qualification, 2021

The majority of the districts and boroughs in Surrey had lower proportions of residents with no qualifications than the South East and England. The only district and borough in Surrey which had a higher proportion of residents with no qualifications than the South East was Spelthorne which had the highest proportion at 16.8 per cent.

Surrey residents with no qualifications, 2021

The Office for National Statistics has produced interactive maps for the 2021 Census results. The maps below show the distribution of highest qualification levels.

Hover over the map to see each of the area names and values. Zoom in and out of these maps to see the data at smaller geographical areas.