School age population, tertiary education, both sexes in United States of America
United States of America: School age population, tertiary education, both sexes was 22.89 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
22.89 million
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
5th
of 221 countries
All-time high
22.89 million
in 2025
All-time low
17.77 million
in 1995
Years of data
55
1970–2025
School age population, tertiary education, both sexes in United States of America, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, tertiary education, both sexes in United States of America is 22.89 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.4% on the previous year and up 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, tertiary education, both sexes in United States of America peaked at 22.89 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 17.77 million, in 1995.
United States of America ranks 5th of 221 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
School age population, tertiary education, both sexes in United States of America, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 17.95 million | — |
| 1971 | 18.18 million | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 18.65 million | +2.6% |
| 1973 | 19.24 million | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 19.84 million | +3.1% |
| 1975 | 20.39 million | +2.8% |
| 1976 | 20.86 million | +2.3% |
| 1977 | 21.26 million | +1.9% |
| 1978 | 21.52 million | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 21.73 million | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 21.88 million | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 21.86 million | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 21.75 million | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 21.59 million | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 21.21 million | -1.7% |
| 1985 | 20.66 million | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 20.09 million | -2.8% |
| 1987 | 19.53 million | -2.8% |
| 1988 | 19.10 million | -2.2% |
| 1989 | 19.04 million | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 18.94 million | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 18.83 million | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 18.64 million | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 18.40 million | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 18.00 million | -2.2% |
| 1995 | 17.77 million | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 17.98 million | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 18.31 million | +1.8% |
| 1998 | 18.74 million | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 19.29 million | +3.0% |
| 2000 | 19.47 million | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 19.96 million | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 20.44 million | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 20.72 million | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 20.82 million | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 20.94 million | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 21.05 million | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 21.22 million | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 21.47 million | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 21.80 million | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 22.05 million | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 22.38 million | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 22.53 million | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 22.51 million | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 22.23 million | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 21.97 million | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 21.71 million | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 21.57 million | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 21.45 million | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 21.42 million | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 21.42 million | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 21.40 million | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 22.50 million | +5.2% |
| 2024 | 22.35 million | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 22.89 million | +2.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 19.96 million | 17.95 million | 21.73 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 20.67 million | 19.04 million | 21.88 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.49 million | 17.77 million | 19.29 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.79 million | 19.47 million | 21.80 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.98 million | 21.42 million | 22.53 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.11 million | 21.40 million | 22.89 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More education data for United States of America
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 25.35 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.5778 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.78 million (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.3162 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 12.29 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate -1.2 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 13.05 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 2.31 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 8.48 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 2.19 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, tertiary education, both sexes in United States of America?
- School age population, tertiary education, both sexes in United States of America was 22.89 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, tertiary education, both sexes recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 22.89 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, tertiary education, both sexes recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.77 million in 1995.
- How does United States of America rank for school age population, tertiary education, both sexes?
- United States of America ranks 5th out of 221 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, tertiary education, both sexes rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. 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 School age population, tertiary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release