Russian Federation vs United States of America: Share of the population with tertiary education

Russian Federation
69.8%
in 2020
United States of America
60.9%
in 2020
Russian Federation rank
1st
United States of America rank
2nd

Share of the population with tertiary education over time

  • Russian Federation
  • United States of America
0204060187019452020

How they compare

Russian Federation currently reports 69.8% against 60.9% in United States of America, a difference of 8.9%.

That makes Russian Federation's figure about 1.1 times United States of America's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 31 shared years of data; in 1870 it was United States of America ahead.

Russian Federation ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 2nd of 111 countries.

Across the 16 decades both report, Russian Federation averaged higher in 3 and United States of America in 13.

Head to head by decade

Decade Russian Federation United States of America Difference Ahead
1870s 0.1% 0.9% 0.8% United States of America
1880s 0.1% 1.2% 1.1% United States of America
1890s 0.1% 2.6% 2.5% United States of America
1900s 0.1% 4.2% 4.2% United States of America
1910s 0.2% 6.0% 5.8% United States of America
1920s 0.6% 8.0% 7.4% United States of America
1930s 1.2% 10.0% 8.8% United States of America
1940s 2.5% 12.1% 9.6% United States of America
1950s 3.9% 15.2% 11.4% United States of America
1960s 5.1% 19.1% 14.0% United States of America
1970s 9.2% 26.5% 17.2% United States of America
1980s 21.7% 39.3% 17.6% United States of America
1990s 41.4% 50.5% 9.1% United States of America
2000s 59.0% 56.3% 2.8% Russian Federation
2010s 67.6% 60.3% 7.3% Russian Federation
2020s 69.8% 60.9% 8.9% Russian Federation

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of the population with tertiary education, Russian Federation or United States of America?
Russian Federation, at 69.8% against 60.9% in United States of America as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of the population with tertiary education between Russian Federation and United States of America?
8.9%, with Russian Federation ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Russian Federation and United States of America?
31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
How do Russian Federation and United States of America rank globally for share of the population with tertiary education?
Russian Federation ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 2nd of 111 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the population with tertiary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Russian Federation vs United States of America: Share of the population with tertiary education. Statizoid, drawing on Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-the-population-with-completed-tertiary-education/russian-federation/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of the population with tertiary education
Unit
%
Source
Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
111 places, 3,441 data points, 1870–2020
Last refreshed

Percentage of the population aged 25 to 65 years who have either completed or partially completed tertiary education.