Australia vs United States: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent
Australia
36.8%
in 2024
United States
39.1%
in 2024
Australia rank
10th
United States rank
7th
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent over time
- Australia
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 39.1% against 36.8% in Australia, a difference of 2.3%.
That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 24 shared years of data; in 2001 it was United States ahead.
Australia ranks 10th and United States ranks 7th of 112 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 21.8% | 28.1% | 6.3% | United States |
| 2010s | 29.4% | 32.4% | 3.0% | United States |
| 2020s | 36.1% | 37.6% | 1.5% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent, Australia or United States?
- United States, at 39.1% against 36.8% in Australia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent between Australia and United States?
- 2.3%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2001 to 2024.
- How do Australia and United States rank globally for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- Australia ranks 10th and United States ranks 7th of 112 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
February 2026 Data Release