Share of the population with at least some formal education in United States
United States: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 99.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
99.6%
World rank
12th
of 111 countries
All-time high
99.7%
in 2000
All-time low
74.8%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in United States, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States recorded 99.6% for share of the population with at least some formal education in 2020.
The figure is down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in United States peaked at 99.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 74.8%, in 1870.
United States ranks 12th of 111 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 74.8% | — |
| 1875 | 80.3% | +7.4% |
| 1880 | 85.4% | +6.4% |
| 1885 | 89.6% | +4.9% |
| 1890 | 91.6% | +2.2% |
| 1895 | 93.2% | +1.7% |
| 1900 | 94.3% | +1.2% |
| 1905 | 95.1% | +0.8% |
| 1910 | 95.3% | +0.2% |
| 1915 | 95.4% | +0.1% |
| 1920 | 95.4% | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 95.7% | +0.3% |
| 1930 | 96.3% | +0.6% |
| 1935 | 96.9% | +0.6% |
| 1940 | 97.4% | +0.5% |
| 1945 | 97.9% | +0.5% |
| 1950 | 98.3% | +0.4% |
| 1955 | 98.5% | +0.2% |
| 1960 | 98.8% | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 99.0% | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 99.0% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 99.4% | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 99.1% | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 99.0% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 99.6% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 99.7% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 99.7% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 99.7% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 99.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 99.6% | -0.1% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 99.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 1.0× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 77.5% | 74.8% | 80.3% | 2 |
| 1880s | 87.5% | 85.4% | 89.6% | 2 |
| 1890s | 92.4% | 91.6% | 93.2% | 2 |
| 1900s | 94.7% | 94.3% | 95.1% | 2 |
| 1910s | 95.3% | 95.3% | 95.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 95.6% | 95.4% | 95.7% | 2 |
| 1930s | 96.6% | 96.3% | 96.9% | 2 |
| 1940s | 97.7% | 97.4% | 97.9% | 2 |
| 1950s | 98.4% | 98.3% | 98.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 98.8% | 98.8% | 98.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 99.0% | 99.0% | 99.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 99.2% | 99.1% | 99.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 99.3% | 99.0% | 99.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 99.7% | 99.7% | 99.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 99.7% | 99.7% | 99.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 99.6% | 99.6% | 99.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near United States
More education data for United States
- 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 share of the population with at least some formal education in United States?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in United States was 99.6% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 99.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 74.8% in 1870.
- How does United States rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- United States ranks 12th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the population aged 15 years and older.