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 0.8777 NPIA in 2024. β–Ό Falling

Latest (2024)
0.8777 NPIA
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
26th
of 32 countries
All-time high
0.9681 NPIA
in 1994
All-time low
0.8743 NPIA
in 2011
Years of data
31
1994–2024

Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America, 1994–2024

00.20.40.60.811994200920241994: 0.968 NPIA1995: 0.917 NPIA1996: 0.949 NPIA1997: 0.953 NPIA1998: 0.951 NPIA1999: 0.954 NPIA2000: 0.949 NPIA2001: 0.959 NPIA2002: 0.946 NPIA2003: 0.929 NPIA2004: 0.923 NPIA2005: 0.916 NPIA2006: 0.916 NPIA2007: 0.895 NPIA2008: 0.898 NPIA2009: 0.89 NPIA2010: 0.88 NPIA2011: 0.874 NPIA2012: 0.889 NPIA2013: 0.888 NPIA2014: 0.891 NPIA2015: 0.882 NPIA2016: 0.886 NPIA2017: 0.89 NPIA2018: 0.885 NPIA2019: 0.903 NPIA2020: 0.894 NPIA2021: 0.888 NPIA2022: 0.888 NPIA2023: 0.882 NPIA2024: 0.878 NPIA

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in NPIA.

Analysis

The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America is 0.8777 NPIA, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America peaked at 0.9681 NPIA in 1994 and was at its lowest, 0.8743 NPIA, in 2011.

That places United States of America 26th out of 32 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.9487 NPIA 0.9168 NPIA 0.9681 NPIA 6
2000s 0.9221 NPIA 0.8905 NPIA 0.9588 NPIA 10
2010s 0.8868 NPIA 0.8743 NPIA 0.9026 NPIA 10
2020s 0.8859 NPIA 0.8777 NPIA 0.8941 NPIA 5

Countries ranked near United States of America

  1. 23 Finland 0.9033 NPIA compare
  2. 24 Germany 0.8824 NPIA compare
  3. 25 Belgium 0.8785 NPIA compare
  4. 27 Croatia 0.8598 NPIA compare
  5. 28 Italy 0.7686 NPIA compare
  6. 29 Brunei Darussalam 0.7464 NPIA compare

See the full ranking of 32 places β†’

More education data for United States of America

All data for United States of America β†’

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 0.8777 NPIA 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 0.9681 NPIA in 1994.
What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in United States of America?
The lowest recorded value was 0.8743 NPIA in 2011.
How does United States of America rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
United States of America ranks 26th out of 32 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 down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
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 native parity index (NPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/educational-attainment-rate-completed-short-cycle-tertiary-education-or-higher-population-21/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, adjusted native parity index (NPIA)
Unit
NPIA
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
32 places, 376 data points, 1994–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release