Indicator
Inequalities in level 3 attainment by age 19, by ethnicity
Published
29 April 2025
Last updated
26 June 2026
Time to read
About 2 mins
About 2 mins
Key points
- In 2023/24, seven times as many young people from a Chinese background achieved a level 3 qualification, compared with young people from an Gypsy/Roma background.
- In 2023/24, just over half of black Caribbean and white British young people had level 3 qualification by the time they were 19 years old.
Education plays an important role in shaping people’s health by influencing factors such as income and employment. It can also support better health literacy, making it easier for people to understand health information and allow more informed health choices as a result.
This chart shows the percentage of young people that achieved a level 3 qualification by the age of 19, in 2023/24, grouped by ethnicity.
- Young people from an Indian or Chinese background had the highest level 3 qualification attainment by age 19 in 2023/24 (79.9% and 88.3%, respectively).
- Young people from a Gypsy/Roma or Traveller of Irish heritage backgrounds had the lowest level 3 qualification attainment by age 19 in 2023/24 (12% and 20.2% respectively). These are considerably lower than the ethnic group with the closest level 3 qualification attainments (47.3% of young people from White and black Caribbean backgrounds).
- Just over half of black Caribbean or white British young people (53.4% and 53.8% respectively) had a level 3 qualification by the time they were 19 years old, in 2023/24.
- Data refer to academic years and include all educational institutions.
- Level 3 qualification refers to two A- levels at grades A*–C or equivalent and includes school, college and apprenticeship qualifications.
Source: Department for Education, Level 2 and 3 attainment by young people age 16–25, England, 2025.
