Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower male in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower male was 96.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in United States, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in United States is 96.5%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in United States peaked at 97.6% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 64.5%, in 1970.
That places United States 22nd out of 133 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower male in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 64.5% | — |
| 1975 | 91.1% | +41.4% |
| 1979 | 92.3% | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 92.4% | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 92.7% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 91.0% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 95.9% | +5.4% |
| 1996 | 96.1% | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 96.1% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 96.2% | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 96.4% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 96.3% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 96.3% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 96.3% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 96.3% | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 93.8% | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 93.5% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 93.9% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 96.6% | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 94.2% | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 94.3% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 94.6% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 94.8% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 94.8% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 95.0% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 95.1% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 95.2% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 95.5% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 94.8% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 96.0% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 97.6% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 96.4% | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 95.1% | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 96.3% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 96.4% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 96.5% | +0.1% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 96.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 92.6%, 1.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower male in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | +41.4% | 64.5% | 91.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 82.6% | 64.5% | 92.3% | 3 |
| 1980s | 92.5% | 92.4% | 92.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 95.3% | 91.0% | 96.4% | 6 |
| 2000s | 95.2% | 93.5% | 96.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 95.3% | 94.6% | 97.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.1% | 95.1% | 96.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
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 lower secondary education or in United States?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in United States was 96.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 97.6% in 2019.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 64.5% in 1970.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- United States ranks 22nd out of 133 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. 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 lower secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release