The bar chart compares the average number of years of schooling completed by male and female adults in Singapore between 2000 and 2010. The pie charts illustrate the highest educational qualifications achieved by the population in 2000 and 2010.
Overall, both men and women spent more years in education over the period, with males remaining ahead of females. In addition, the proportion of people with university degrees and diplomas increased, while the percentages of those whose highest qualification was secondary school or college decreased.
In 2000, male adults studied for about 7.5 years, compared with 6 years for females. The average years of schooling rose steadily throughout the period for both genders. By 2010, men had reached approximately 9.5 years of education, while the figure for women had increased to around 8.3 years. Although the gap between the two groups remained, both experienced a gradual improvement.
Regarding educational achievement, in 2000 the largest group had completed secondary school (27.7%), followed by college (26.5%), diploma (24%), and university degree (21.8%). By 2010, the pattern had changed considerably. The proportion of people with a university degree rose sharply to 44.5%, becoming the largest category, while the share with a diploma also increased to 31.2%. In contrast, the percentages for college and secondary school fell significantly to 16.3% and 8%, respectively.