Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both was 96.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United States, 2004–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United States stood at 96.0%. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United States peaked at 96.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 81.7%, in 2005.
That places United States 2nd out of 113 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 82.5% | — |
| 2005 | 81.7% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 83.0% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 84.1% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 84.6% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 84.7% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 85.2% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 85.3% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 85.5% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 86.2% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 86.3% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 86.8% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 94.5% | +8.8% |
| 2018 | 87.7% | -7.2% |
| 2019 | 94.7% | +8.0% |
| 2020 | 89.5% | -5.5% |
| 2021 | 95.3% | +6.6% |
| 2022 | 89.9% | -5.8% |
| 2023 | 95.6% | +6.4% |
| 2024 | 96.0% | +0.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 96.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 73.5%, 1.3× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 83.2% | 81.7% | 84.6% | 5 |
| 2010s | 87.7% | 84.7% | 94.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 93.3% | 89.5% | 96.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 1 Uzbekistan 96.9% compare
- 3 Belarus 94.5% compare
- 4 Kazakhstan 93.2% compare
- 5 Azerbaijan 90.3% 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 upper secondary education or in United States?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in United States was 96.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 96.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 81.7% in 2005.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- United States ranks 2nd out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release