Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral … Doctoral rural both in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral … Doctoral rural both was 1.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral or equivalent in United States, 2005–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in United States stood at 1.3%. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 14.0% on the previous year and up 25.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in United States peaked at 1.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2006.
United States ranks 4th of 40 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral … Doctoral rural both in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 0.8% | — |
| 2006 | 0.8% | -7.7% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 0.8% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 0.8% | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | +14.0% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 1.0% | +11.6% |
| 2013 | 1.0% | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | -15.5% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +13.9% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | +21.2% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 1.2% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 1.2% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 1.3% | +7.0% |
| 2022 | 1.2% | -6.2% |
| 2023 | 1.2% | -5.1% |
| 2024 | 1.3% | +14.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 1.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.5%, 2.9× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 5 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 1 Luxembourg 1.8% compare
- 2 Switzerland 1.6% compare
- 3 Latvia 1.5% compare
- 5 Slovenia 1.3% compare
- 6 Australia 1.2% compare
- 7 United Kingdom 1.1% compare
More education data for United States
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 96.21 (2022)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 96.02 (2022)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.74 million (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 419,732 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 4.34 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.14 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.35 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 23.83 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.33 % change on previous year (2023)
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 1.3% 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 1.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2006.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent?
- United States ranks 4th out of 40 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 25.8%. 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, rural, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release