Educational attainment rate … short-cycle tertiary location in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate … short-cycle tertiary location was 0.751 LPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States 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 peaked at 0.751 LPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.5915 LPIA, in 2004.
That places United States 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 … short-cycle tertiary location in United States, 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% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.751 LPIA is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.6393 LPIA, 1.2× the median. (41 countries reporting)
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
More education data for United States
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 96.21 (2022)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 96.02 (2022)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.74 million (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 419,732 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 4.34 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.14 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.35 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 23.83 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.33 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States 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?
- 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?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5915 LPIA in 2004.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- United States 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?
- 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 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