Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United States of America
United States of America: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 26.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United States of America, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States of America recorded 26.4% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2023. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 21.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United States of America peaked at 26.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 18.7%, in 1999.
United States of America ranks 13th of 122 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 18.7% | — |
| 2013 | 21.8% | +16.6% |
| 2014 | 22.5% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 23.5% | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 23.7% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 24.1% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 24.0% | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 26.1% | +9.1% |
| 2023 | 26.4% | +0.9% |
United States of America compared with similar countries
- United States of America's 26.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 18.2%, 1.4× the median. (58 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18.7% | 18.7% | 18.7% | 1 |
| 2010s | 23.1% | 21.8% | 24.1% | 5 |
| 2020s | 25.5% | 24.0% | 26.4% | 3 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More education data for United States of America
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0708 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United States of America?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in United States of America was 26.4% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 26.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.7% in 1999.
- How does United States of America rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- United States of America ranks 13th out of 122 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.1%. 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 Health and Welfare programmes, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release