People who have parents with a university degree more likely to get university education

People who have parents with a university degree remain more likely to get a university education than children whose parents do not have a degree, although the gap between the two groups has narrowed over time.

In 1986, 12% of Canadian-born people aged 25 to 39 whose parents did not complete university had graduated from university. By 2009, this proportion had almost doubled to 23%.

In contrast, in 1986, 45% of people who had at least one parent with a university degree had graduated from a university. By 2009, this proportion had also increased, but at a slower pace, to 56%.

Women largely account for the increase in the percentage of university graduates among people whose parents did not have a degree.

In 1986, 10% of women whose parents were not graduates had a degree. By 2009, that percentage had almost tripled to 28%. The gain for men was more modest; the proportion rose from 14% in 1986 to 18% in 2009.

For second-generation immigrants (those with at least one parent born outside Canada), social background had less of an impact on the probability of completing university than for people whose parents were born in Canada.

For example, in 2009, among people with at least one parent born outside Canada, 30% of those with parents who were not university graduates had a university degree. This compares with 62% of those with at least one parent who had a degree. In other words, the proportion was twice as high for people with parents who graduated from university.

However, for people with two Canadian-born parents, the relative difference between the two groups was 2.5 times greater. About 21% of people with parents who were not graduates had a university degree, compared with 53% of those with at least one parent who had a degree.