Norway vs United States: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education

Norway
53.8%
in 2023
United States
54.0%
in 2024
Norway rank
12th
United States rank
11th

Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education over time

  • Norway
  • United States
1020304050197019972024

How they compare

United States currently reports 54.0% against 53.8% in Norway, a difference of 0.2%.

The two have swapped places 7 times across 19 shared years of data; in 1970 it was United States ahead.

Norway ranks 12th and United States ranks 11th of 101 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Norway United States Difference Ahead
1970s 6.0% 20.1% 14.1% United States
2000s 31.9% 39.6% 7.7% United States
2010s 41.9% 45.5% 3.6% United States
2020s 51.5% 52.1% 0.6% United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education, Norway or United States?
United States, at 54.0% against 53.8% in Norway as of 2024.
What is the difference in educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education between Norway and United States?
0.2%, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and United States?
19 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2023.
How do Norway and United States rank globally for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
Norway ranks 12th and United States ranks 11th of 101 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, female (%). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Norway vs United States: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/educational-attainment-rate-completed-short-cycle-tertiary-education-or-higher-population-8/norway/united-states/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/compare/educational-attainment-rate-completed-short-cycle-tertiary-education-or-higher-population-8/norway/united-states/">Norway vs United States: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
101 places, 1,571 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release