Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or was 96.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in United States, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in United States stood at 96.7%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in United States peaked at 97.7% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 66.8%, in 1970.
That places United States 17th out of 131 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 education or in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 66.8% | — |
| 1975 | 92.4% | +38.3% |
| 1979 | 93.1% | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 93.0% | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 93.3% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 91.4% | -2.1% |
| 1995 | 96.3% | +5.4% |
| 1996 | 96.3% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 96.4% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 96.4% | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 96.5% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 96.5% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 96.6% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 96.6% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 96.7% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 94.3% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 93.9% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 94.5% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 97.0% | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 94.7% | -2.3% |
| 2009 | 94.7% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 94.9% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 95.0% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 95.1% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 95.4% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 95.4% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 95.5% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 95.7% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 95.0% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 96.1% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 97.7% | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 96.5% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 95.4% | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 96.7% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 96.6% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 96.7% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 84.1% | 66.8% | 93.1% | 3 |
| 1980s | 93.1% | 93.0% | 93.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 95.5% | 91.4% | 96.5% | 6 |
| 2000s | 95.5% | 93.9% | 97.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 95.6% | 94.9% | 97.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.4% | 95.4% | 96.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 14 Azerbaijan 98.0% compare
- 15 Switzerland 97.9% compare
- 16 Lithuania 97.5% compare
- 18 Bulgaria 96.5% compare
- 19 Cayman Islands 96.3% compare
- 20 Bahamas 96.3% compare
More education data for United States
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,022 tertiary education (2023)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2023)
- 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)
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 96.7% 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 97.7% in 2019.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 66.8% in 1970.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- United States ranks 17th out of 131 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 1.4%. 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, female (%). 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