Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America
United States of America: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education was 0.751 LPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America stood at 0.751 LPIA. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America peaked at 0.751 LPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.5915 LPIA, in 2004.
That places United States of America 13th out of 93 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America, year by year
| Year | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.6246 LPIA | — |
| 2004 | 0.5915 LPIA | -5.3% |
| 2005 | 0.7045 LPIA | +19.1% |
| 2006 | 0.6688 LPIA | -5.1% |
| 2007 | 0.7027 LPIA | +5.1% |
| 2008 | 0.7 LPIA | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 0.7043 LPIA | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 0.6867 LPIA | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 0.7065 LPIA | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 0.6987 LPIA | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 0.6859 LPIA | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 0.7099 LPIA | +3.5% |
| 2015 | 0.723 LPIA | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 0.7209 LPIA | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.73 LPIA | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 0.7185 LPIA | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 0.736 LPIA | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 0.7227 LPIA | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 0.7375 LPIA | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 0.7214 LPIA | -2.2% |
| 2023 | 0.7333 LPIA | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 0.751 LPIA | +2.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.6246 LPIA | 0.6246 LPIA | 0.6246 LPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.6786 LPIA | 0.5915 LPIA | 0.7045 LPIA | 6 |
| 2010s | 0.7116 LPIA | 0.6859 LPIA | 0.736 LPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7332 LPIA | 0.7214 LPIA | 0.751 LPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
- 10 Switzerland 0.8053 LPIA compare
- 11 Ireland 0.7928 LPIA compare
- 12 Germany 0.7841 LPIA compare
- 14 Brunei Darussalam 0.7348 LPIA compare
- 15 Netherlands 0.7331 LPIA compare
- 16 Tonga 0.7097 LPIA compare
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 short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America was 0.751 LPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 0.751 LPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5915 LPIA in 2004.
- How does United States of America rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- United States of America ranks 13th out of 93 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, adjusted location parity index (LPIA). 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