Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural was 35.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States 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 peaked at 35.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 15.1%, in 1970.
United States 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 … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural in United States, 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% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 35.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.5%, 1.6× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +65.3% | 15.1% | 24.9% |
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
- 6 Switzerland 39.8% compare
- 7 South 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
- 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 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?
- 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?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.1% in 1970.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- United States 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?
- 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 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