The gender gap in high school graduation narrows in 2023/2024
Released: 2026-10-21
Over four in five (84%) youth in Canada graduated from high school on time in 2023/2024. The extended-time graduation rate, which provides students with an additional two years to complete their studies, was 91%.
Examining high school graduation rates is important because earning a high school diploma is a key stepping stone to pursuing postsecondary education, while not finishing high school has been identified as the strongest risk factor for being not in employment, education or training (NEET).
Graduation rates have consistently been lower among young men than young women since 2016/2017. Specifically, in 2016/2017, 84% of young women and 76% of young men graduated high school on time, a gap of 8 percentage points. By 2023/2024, the gap had narrowed to 4 percentage points, with on-time graduation rates of 86% for young women and 82% for young men.
In 2023/2024, women had a higher graduation rate than men in all provinces by a margin of 3 percentage points or less, with the two exceptions being Quebec (9 percentage points) and Ontario (5 percentage points).
Differences between men and women are also evident in postsecondary enrolment. In 2023/2024, for example, women represented 56% of domestic student enrolments in short-cycle tertiary education, such as college certificates and diplomas, and 58% of domestic student enrolments in a bachelor's degree or equivalent. This pattern has been relatively consistent since the early 2000s.
Chart 1
On-time high school graduation rate by gender, 2023/2024
Taking one or two additional years to graduate is more common in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
The extended-time graduation rate, which includes students who took an additional one or two years to graduate, increased in most provinces from 2016/2017 to 2023/2024, with an overall increase from 87% to 91% at the national level.
In 2023/2024, the proportion of youth taking additional time to graduate was highest in Quebec (9%), Ontario (8%), Saskatchewan (8%), and Manitoba (7%). By comparison, taking additional time was less common in the Atlantic provinces, ranging from 2% of youth in Newfoundland and Labrador to 5% in Prince Edward Island.
When graduation was measured over the extended period, the gap in graduation rates between women and men narrowed. In Quebec, for example, the difference decreased from 12 percentage points in 2021/2022 to 7 percentage points in 2023/2024. In Ontario, the gap also narrowed, falling from 5 to 3 percentage points over the same period.
In some provinces, such as Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, the gender gap in high school graduation rates was no longer present after factoring in the two additional years to graduate.
Note to readers
The on-time high school graduation rate is the percentage of a cohort of young people who complete their high school studies within three years of starting grade 10 ("Secondary 3" in Quebec).
The extended-time high school graduation rate is the percentage of a cohort of young people who complete their high school studies within five years of starting grade 10 ("Secondary 3" in Quebec).
Data are not available for the Northwest Territories for the 2020/2021 to 2023/2024 school years and for Nunavut from 2017/2018 to 2022/2023. No data are available for Yukon.
For more information on the concepts and methodology used in this release, please refer to Education Indicators in Canada: Handbook for the Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program.
The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program is an ongoing initiative of the Canadian Education Statistics Council, which is a partnership between Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. The program provides a set of statistical measures on education systems in Canada.
Products
The publication Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program, October 2026 (81-582-X) is now available.
The products Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program: Interactive Dashboard (71-607-X) and Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) Data Explorer have been updated with newly released data.
The Fact Sheet Demographic Echoes: Generational Waves and the Changing School-Age Population in Canada (81-599-X) has been released alongside this release.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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