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 35.7% 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 %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America stood at 35.7%. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.6% on the previous year and up 23.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States of America peaked at 35.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 15.1%, in 1970.
United States of America ranks 9th of 95 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 15.1% | — |
| 2004 | 24.9% | +65.3% |
| 2005 | 25.3% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 25.1% | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 26.9% | +7.3% |
| 2008 | 26.6% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 26.4% | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 26.4% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 27.9% | +5.5% |
| 2012 | 27.6% | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 27.8% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 29.0% | +4.3% |
| 2015 | 29.5% | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 29.7% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 31.3% | +5.4% |
| 2018 | 30.9% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 32.5% | +5.2% |
| 2020 | 32.7% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 33.6% | +2.8% |
| 2022 | 32.3% | -3.9% |
| 2023 | 34.5% | +6.9% |
| 2024 | 35.7% | +3.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 15.1% | 15.1% | 15.1% | 1 |
| 2000s | 25.8% | 24.9% | 26.9% | 6 |
| 2010s | 29.3% | 26.4% | 32.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.8% | 32.3% | 35.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
- 6 Switzerland 39.8% compare
- 7 Republic of Korea 39.2% compare
- 8 Ireland 36.3% compare
- 10 Belgium 32.7% compare
- 11 Netherlands 30.3% compare
- 12 Canada 30.2% compare
More education data for United States of America
- 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)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 96.97 (2022)
- School enrollment, primary 97.0% (2022)
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 35.7% 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 35.7% 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 15.1% in 1970.
- How does United States of America rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- United States of America ranks 9th out of 95 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 23.4%. 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, rural, male (%). 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