Week 50, 2012: Regional Education Levels

Summary: Detailed census data was released yesterday, and it showed many different things.  One of the more interesting facts was that in 2011, a higher percentage of the population had at least a bachelor's degree than had no formal qualifications at all (the first time this has been the case in England and Wales).  We look into the regional data in more detail with this week's chart.

What does the chart show? This week's chart looks rather complicated, but actually isn't.  For each region, the 2001 data is in blue, and the 2011 data is in red.  The percentage of the population (aged over 16) with no formal qualifications is in the lighter colour, and the percentage with Level 4 qualifications (a bachelor's degree or equivalent) or above is in the darker colour.  The group on the far left - All England and Wales - is the overall figure, as Scotland and Northern Ireland are not included in the census data.

Why is the chart interesting? Although having a degree-level qualification is by no means the only measure of education, the headline figure that more of the population now have at least a bachelor's degree than have no qualifications at all is surely a positive one.  In 2001, only London had more graduates than people with no formal qualifications; in 2011, four regions do (London, the South East, the South West, and the East of England).  And although these are all found in the southern half of the country, in every region the number of graduates has increased and the number of people without any qualifications has decreased.  In three regions (Wales, the North West and the East Midlands) the two groups are now roughly equal.

These are all positive signs, and it is amazing the difference a decade has made.