0 Administrative Information about the Statistical Product


0.1 Name
The Attainment Register

0.2 Subject Area
Education and culture

0.3 Responsible Authority, Office, Person, etc.
Population and education
Susanne Mainz Sørensen, tel.: +45 3917 3394, e-mail: sms@dst.dk

0.4 Purpose and History
The purpose of The Attainment Register is to give an overall statistical description of the educational level of the population at any given time.

The core educational data was first collected in 1974. For the oldest section of the Danish population, the educational data are still extracted from the population and housing census 1970. Information about the education of immigrants was first collected in 1999. From this time and onwards, information has been continuously collected.

0.5 Users and Application
There is a great variety of users. The information is generally used in connection with describing the population or sections hereof. The register is used in connection with status reports for other statistical fields. Data reports are thus submitted for (mainly on the population's highest level of education completed) a wide number of integration registers operated by Statistics Denmark. Furthermore, the register is frequently used in connection with external service activities order by Danish ministries, municipalities, research institutions, professional organisations, private enterprises, private individuals and, not least, requests made by the news media.

0.6 Sources
The Attainment Register make use of several administrative registers.

The primary source is data from the educational institutions assembled in a register called the Integrated Student Register. The data contained in this register is indiviually based educational information. The educational information collected in this register stems only from full-time educational programs.

Another secondary register contains information on part time educational programs or courses. From this register, only complete educational programs (or set of assembled courses) at the same level of qualification as the full-time educational programs are used in the register on highest level of education completed.

Other sources to educational attainment are the population and housing census from 1970 (used for educational qualifications achieved before 1974) and the immigrant census from 1999 (only used if no educational programs or courses have been taken in Denmark).

0.7 Legal Authority to Collect Data
No external data collection.

0.8 Response burden
No response burden.

0.9 EU Regulation
No EU Regulation.


1 Contents


1.1 Description of Contents
Using data from The Attainment Register, it is possible to describe the educational level of the population at a given time.

1.2 Statistical Concepts
Educational variables:

Highest level of general education completed = a person's highest level of general education completed (Basic school, generall upper-secondary education).

- Educational code = 4-digit code for each individual education
- Time of beginning = time of beginning of the education completed.
- Time of completion = time of completion of the education completed
- Institution code = code of the institution at which the education was completed

Highest level of vocational qualifying education completed = a person's highest level of vocational qualifying education completed (Vocational and further education).

- Educational code = 4-digit code for each individual education
- Time of beginning = time of beginning of the education completed.
- Time of completion = time of completion of the education completed
- Institution code = code of the institution at which the education was completed.

Highest level of education completed = a person's highest level of education completed

- Educational code = 4-digit code for each individual education
- Time of beginning = time of beginning of the education completed.
- Time of completion = time of completion of the education completed
- Institution code = code of the institution at which the education was completed


Definition of the higher education completed.
Especially vocational qualifying education is of importance when the register is used. This is created on the basis of the method below:

First, the highest general education completed and the highest vocational qualifying education completed is separately found:

The highest general education completed prioritizes the highest prescribed general education which the person has completed until the time of status. General education comprises in general: study/educational qualifying education, basic school, general or vocational upper-secondary education.

The highest vocational qualifying education completed is a prioritization of the longest prescribed vocational education which the person has completed until the time of status.

Highest vocational qualifying education comprises an education which provides the person with a specific vocationl skill (or if the person is not in employment, then access to membership of a unemployment insurance fund).

The highest education completed is created on the basis of this. If there is a vocational qualifying education, then this is the highest education completed, or the highest general education completed is selected.

In cases where there is no highest vocational qualifying education completed or highest general education completed, the highest education completed is not stated.


2 Time


2.1 Reference Period
The status of the population can be messured at any time.

2.2 Date of Publication
Information in The Attainment Register is updated annually in December. Statbank Denmark is published simultaneously with the publication of News from Statistics Denmark (HFU1 and HFU3) at the end of December, while HFU2 are published in Statbank Denmark in May.

2.3 Punctuality
Punctuality is primarily dependent on the most recent data reports by the institutions.

2.4 Frequency
Statistics published annually.


3 Accuracy


3.1 Overall accuracy
Accuracy is considered to be high.

3.2 Sources of inaccuracy
With respect to information on level of education of the population, the greatest inaccuracies are those related to educations that are not registered. There is a great share of persons with immigrant status (and partly descendants) for whom no education data are registered. For persons in the oldest age group there is also a great share for whom no education data are registered. Furthermore, as regards persons who attain their education outside Denmark, there is no registration of such courses unless they are formally transformed to a Danish education at a Danish education institution.

3.3 Measures on accuracy
No measurements are available.


4 Comparability


4.1 Comparability over Time
Comparability over time is generally good.

4.2 Comparability with other Statistics
The register is designed for purposes of conducting comparisons with other registers.

4.3 Coherence between provisional and final statistics
The last year are temporary.


5 Accessibility


5.1 Forms of dissemination
Statistics are published in News from Statistics Denmark (Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik); Education and Culture appearing in the Statistical News (Statistiske Efterretninger) series. Information also appears in the annual publications Statistical 10-Year Review and the Statistical Yearbook.

In 2004, the theme publication entitled "Level of education of the population" was published, and outlines the highest level of education completed as a description of the level of education during a period of 20 years.

Information can be found on the Internet at the address: (StatBank Denmark (Danmarks Statistikbank).

5.2 Basic material: Storage and usability
The Attainment Register is based on information taken from the administrative registers. The register is person-based.

5.3 Documentation
Some documentation can be found in Education and Culture appearing in the Statistical News (Statistiske Efterretninger) series.
Further documentation can be found in technical manuals and logs.

For further information contact:
Statistics Denmark
Population and education
Susanne Mainz Sørensen, e-mail: sms@dst.dk

5.4 Other Information
The theme publication entitled "Level of education of the population" was published and outlines the highest level of education completed of the population. The publication is only available in Danish.


Supplementary documentation
No supplementary documentation is available