Canada vs United States of America: Share of the population with lower secondary education
Canada
96.4%
in 2024
United States of America
96.6%
in 2024
Canada rank
19th
United States of America rank
18th
Share of the population with lower secondary education over time
- Canada
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 96.6% against 96.4% in Canada, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 34 shared years of data; in 1970 it was United States of America ahead.
Canada ranks 19th and United States of America ranks 18th of 135 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 60.2% | 65.7% | 5.5% | United States of America |
| 1980s | 74.3% | 93.0% | 18.7% | United States of America |
| 1990s | 86.0% | 94.6% | 8.6% | United States of America |
| 2000s | 90.5% | 95.4% | 4.8% | United States of America |
| 2010s | 94.1% | 95.5% | 1.4% | United States of America |
| 2020s | 96.1% | 96.3% | 0.2% | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of the population with lower secondary education, Canada or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 96.6% against 96.4% in Canada as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of the population with lower secondary education between Canada and United States of America?
- 0.2%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and United States of America?
- 34 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2024.
- How do Canada and United States of America rank globally for share of the population with lower secondary education?
- Canada ranks 19th and United States of America ranks 18th of 135 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the population with lower secondary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of adults aged 25 and older who have completed lower secondary education or higher.