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 53.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America, 1994–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States of America recorded 53.5% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2024. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 21.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America peaked at 53.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 27.7%, in 1994.
United States of America ranks 1st of 38 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 27.7% | — |
| 1995 | 28.7% | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 29.5% | +2.7% |
| 1997 | 30.2% | +2.3% |
| 1998 | 31.0% | +2.6% |
| 1999 | 31.9% | +3.0% |
| 2000 | 32.7% | +2.4% |
| 2001 | 33.5% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 34.5% | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 35.3% | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 35.8% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 36.6% | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 37.4% | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 38.3% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 39.2% | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 39.9% | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 40.7% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 41.6% | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 42.4% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 43.2% | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 44.1% | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 44.9% | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 45.9% | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 47.0% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 48.1% | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 49.0% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 51.1% | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 51.2% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 51.7% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 52.5% | +1.5% |
| 2024 | 53.5% | +2.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 29.8% | 27.7% | 31.9% | 6 |
| 2000s | 36.3% | 32.7% | 39.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 44.7% | 40.7% | 49.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.0% | 51.1% | 53.5% | 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 short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America was 53.5% 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 53.5% 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 27.7% in 1994.
- How does United States of America rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- United States of America ranks 1st out of 38 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 21.4%. 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, non-immigrant background, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release