Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral or equivalent in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral or equivalent was 2.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral or equivalent in United States, 1994–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in United States is 2.1%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 4.4% on the previous year and up 39.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in United States peaked at 2.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1994.
That places United States 3rd out of 35 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral or equivalent in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 0.9% | — |
| 1995 | 1.0% | +4.5% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 1.0% | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 1.0% | +6.5% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | +3.0% |
| 2000 | 1.1% | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 1.1% | +4.1% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 1.1% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | +3.8% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 1.2% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 1.2% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 1.2% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | +9.0% |
| 2011 | 1.4% | +8.8% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 1.5% | +4.1% |
| 2014 | 1.5% | +3.9% |
| 2015 | 1.6% | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | +3.3% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | +5.4% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | +6.5% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 1.9% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 1.9% | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 2.0% | +3.5% |
| 2023 | 2.0% | +3.0% |
| 2024 | 2.1% | +4.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 6 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 1 Slovenia 2.6% compare
- 2 Switzerland 2.4% compare
- 4 Luxembourg 2.1% compare
- 5 Germany 1.9% compare
- 6 Sweden 1.6% compare
More education data for United States
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 1.78 million (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 96.97 (2022)
- School enrollment, primary 97.0% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in United States?
- Educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in United States was 2.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1994.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent?
- United States ranks 3rd out of 35 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral or equivalent education, population 25+ years, non-immigrant background, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release