Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in United States
United States: Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary was 97.0% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in United States, 1971–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States recorded 97.0% for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in 2022.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in United States peaked at 104.1% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 88.7%, in 1971.
United States ranks 145th of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 88.7% | — |
| 1972 | 88.8% | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 91.8% | +3.4% |
| 1974 | 91.8% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 92.0% | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 92.3% | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 91.9% | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 91.7% | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 91.5% | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 100.4% | +9.8% |
| 1981 | 100.5% | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 103.4% | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 103.8% | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 103.1% | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 102.5% | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 102.4% | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 102.1% | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 104.1% | +1.9% |
| 1991 | 103.1% | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 102.8% | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 102.6% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 104.0% | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 103.2% | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 102.3% | -0.9% |
| 1999 | 102.1% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 101.9% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 99.5% | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 99.7% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 100.3% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 101.4% | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 101.8% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 101.3% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 101.0% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 100.3% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 98.3% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 97.0% | -1.4% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 97.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.8%, 97% of the median. (78 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 91.2% | 88.7% | 92.3% | 9 |
| 1980s | 102.3% | 100.4% | 103.8% | 8 |
| 1990s | 103.0% | 102.1% | 104.1% | 8 |
| 2000s | 101.9% | 101.9% | 101.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 100.7% | 99.5% | 101.8% | 7 |
| 2020s | 98.5% | 97.0% | 100.3% | 3 |
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 primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in United States?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in United States was 97.0% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 104.1% in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 88.7% in 1971.
- How does United States rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- United States ranks 145th out of 217 countries with data for 2022.
- Is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in primary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official primary school age.