Singapore vs United States of America: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education
Singapore
53.2%
in 2024
United States of America
49.8%
in 2024
Singapore rank
4th
United States of America rank
6th
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education over time
- Singapore
- United States of America
How they compare
Singapore currently reports 53.2% against 49.8% in United States of America, a difference of 3.4%.
That makes Singapore's figure about 1.1 times United States of America's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 21 shared years of data; in 1990 it was United States of America ahead.
Singapore ranks 4th and United States of America ranks 6th of 129 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Singapore averaged higher in 2 and United States of America in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Singapore | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.4% | 45.2% | 36.9% | United States of America |
| 2000s | 32.0% | 37.7% | 5.7% | United States of America |
| 2010s | 42.5% | 42.5% | 0.0% | Singapore |
| 2020s | 52.1% | 48.6% | 3.5% | Singapore |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education, Singapore or United States of America?
- Singapore, at 53.2% against 49.8% in United States of America as of 2024.
- What is the difference in educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education between Singapore and United States of America?
- 3.4%, with Singapore ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Singapore and United States of America?
- 21 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2024.
- How do Singapore and United States of America rank globally for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Singapore ranks 4th and United States of America ranks 6th of 129 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, 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