Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States of America
United States of America: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 99.1% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Latest (2024)
99.1%
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
37th
of 136 countries
All-time high
99.6%
in 2019
All-time low
94.5%
in 1970
Years of data
32
1970–2024
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States of America, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States of America is 99.1%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States of America peaked at 99.6% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 94.5%, in 1970.
That places United States of America 37th out of 136 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 94.5% | — |
| 1980 | 96.4% | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 99.5% | +3.1% |
| 1996 | 99.4% | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 99.5% | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 99.5% | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 98.6% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 98.4% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 98.5% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 99.6% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 98.7% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 98.6% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 98.7% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 98.7% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 98.8% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 98.8% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 98.8% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 97.6% | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 99.0% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 99.6% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 99.1% | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 97.3% | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 99.0% | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 94.5% | 94.5% | 94.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 96.4% | 96.4% | 96.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 99.5% | 99.4% | 99.5% | 5 |
| 2000s | 99.0% | 98.4% | 99.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 98.8% | 97.6% | 99.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.7% | 97.3% | 99.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More education data for United States of America
- 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)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States of America?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States of America was 99.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 99.6% in 2019.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 94.5% in 1970.
- How does United States of America rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- United States of America ranks 37th out of 136 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release