Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts in United States of America

United States of America: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts was 19.7% in 2016. ▲ Rising

Latest (2016)
19.7%
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
2nd
of 97 countries
All-time high
21.0%
in 2013
All-time low
11.8%
in 1999
Years of data
16
1999–2016

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts in United States of America, 1999–2016

051015201999200720161999: 11.8 %2000: 12 %2001: 12 %2002: 12.2 %2005: 13.2 %2006: 13.2 %2007: 13.1 %2008: 13.1 %2009: 12.9 %2010: 12.5 %2011: 12.1 %2012: 11.9 %2013: 21 %2014: 20.9 %2015: 19.8 %2016: 19.7 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2016, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts in United States of America stood at 19.7%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and up 49.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts in United States of America peaked at 21.0% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 11.8%, in 1999.

That places United States of America 2nd out of 97 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts in United States of America, year by year

Annual values for Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts and Humanities programmes, both sexes (%) in United States of America, 1999 to 2016.
Year % Change
1999 11.8%
2000 12.0% +2.1%
2001 12.0% -0.4%
2002 12.2% +1.8%
2005 13.2% +8.0%
2006 13.2% -0.1%
2007 13.1% -0.6%
2008 13.1% +0.3%
2009 12.9% -2.0%
2010 12.5% -3.1%
2011 12.1% -2.8%
2012 11.9% -1.8%
2013 21.0% +77.0%
2014 20.9% -0.7%
2015 19.8% -5.3%
2016 19.7% -0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 11.8% 11.8% 11.8% 1
2000s 12.7% 12.0% 13.2% 8
2010s 16.8% 11.9% 21.0% 7

Countries ranked near United States of America

  1. 1 Algeria 20.8% compare
  2. 3 Armenia 19.3% compare
  3. 4 Saudi Arabia 19.2% compare
  4. 5 Bermuda 19.0% compare

See the full ranking of 97 places →

More education data for United States of America

All data for United States of America →

Frequently asked questions

What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts in United States of America?
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts in United States of America was 19.7% in 2016, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts recorded in United States of America?
The highest recorded value was 21.0% in 2013.
What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts recorded in United States of America?
The lowest recorded value was 11.8% in 1999.
How does United States of America rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts?
United States of America ranks 2nd out of 97 countries with data for 2016.
Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts rising or falling in United States of America?
Over the last ten years it is up 49.4%. 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 Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts and Humanities programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts in United States of America. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-arts-and-humanities/united-states/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-arts-and-humanities/united-states/">Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts in United States of America</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts and Humanities programmes, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
97 places, 1,141 data points, 1998–2020
Last refreshed

Share of all tertiary graduates who completed humanities and arts programmes in the reference year.