Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 99.1% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Latest (2024)
99.1%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
38th
of 135 countries
All-time high
99.6%
in 2019
All-time low
95.0%
in 1970
Years of data
33
1970–2024
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States stood at 99.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States peaked at 99.6% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 95.0%, in 1970.
United States ranks 38th of 135 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 95.0% | — |
| 1980 | 96.6% | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 99.4% | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 99.4% | +0.0% |
| 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 | 98.7% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 98.5% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 98.6% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 99.6% | +1.0% |
| 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% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 98.8% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 98.8% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 97.6% | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 99.0% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 99.6% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 99.1% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 97.4% | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 99.1% | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 99.0% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 99.1% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 95.0% | 95.0% | 95.0% | 1 |
| 1980s | 96.6% | 96.6% | 96.6% | 1 |
| 1990s | 99.5% | 99.4% | 99.5% | 6 |
| 2000s | 99.1% | 98.5% | 99.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 98.8% | 97.6% | 99.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.7% | 97.4% | 99.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
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 primary education or higher in United States?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States 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?
- 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?
- The lowest recorded value was 95.0% in 1970.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- United States ranks 38th out of 135 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in United States?
- 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 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release