Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 99.7% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States, 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 is 99.7%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States peaked at 99.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 95.0%, in 1970.
That places United States 24th out of 106 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 95.0% | — |
| 2004 | 98.5% | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 98.4% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 98.4% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 99.5% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 98.6% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 98.5% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 98.6% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 98.7% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 98.7% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 98.8% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 98.7% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 98.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 98.8% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 99.6% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 99.0% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 99.6% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 99.0% | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 99.6% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 99.0% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 99.6% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 99.7% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 95.0% | 95.0% | 95.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 98.7% | 98.4% | 99.5% | 6 |
| 2010s | 98.9% | 98.6% | 99.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.4% | 99.0% | 99.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More education data for United States
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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 years (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 99.7% 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 99.7% in 2024.
- 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 24th out of 106 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 1.0%. 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, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release