Study finds 2nd-generation of Asian immigrants most likely to get university degrees

A recent study by Statistics Canada shows that the children of Asian immigrant parents have the highest rate of university completion in Canada, more than double the rate of other ethnicities, Canadian-born or otherwise.

The study, "Group differences in educational attainment among the children of immigrants", found that university completion rates ranged from over 65 per cent for youth of immigrant parents from China and India to 24 per cent among second-generation German and Central and South American youth. As a benchmark, about 28 per cent of the children of Canadian-born parents had completed university by the time they were aged 25 to 34 in 2002. Nearly one-third of youth whose parents were from the Caribbean, Portugal and the Netherlands completed university education.

The higher university completion rates among children of Chinese and Indian immigrants remained when differences among the youth in abilities in the two official languages and parental educational levels were taken into account. These are important factors that influence the likelihood of youth completing university. Living in the cities, where most new immigrants settle, also influences how much importance is placed upon the need for a university education.

Data for this study came from the 2002 Statistics Canada’s Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS). This study focuses on a sub-sample of about 3,300 young adults aged from 25 to 34 who are either Canadian-born children of at least one immigrant parent or who immigrated to Canada at age 12 or younger. This study includes 2,689 children of Canadian-born parents as the comparison group.

This study includes eight non-Western countries/regions and ten Western countries for a comprehensive analysis of group differences in university completion rates across a large range of immigrant source groups. The non-Western countries/regions include Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, China, the Philippines, India, West Asia/Middle East, and other Asia. The Western countries include the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, other Northern/Western Europe, Eastern Europe, other Europe, and other countries (mostly Oceania).