Australia vs New Zealand: Share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education
Australia
78.8%
in 2022
New Zealand
79.3%
in 2022
Australia rank
13th
New Zealand rank
12th
Share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education over time
- Australia
- New Zealand
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 79.3% against 78.8% in Australia, a difference of 0.5%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 8 shared years of data; in 2000 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 13th and New Zealand ranks 12th of 59 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 2 and New Zealand in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | New Zealand | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 87.0% | 85.7% | 1.3% | Australia |
| 2010s | 82.7% | 82.5% | 0.2% | Australia |
| 2020s | 78.8% | 79.3% | 0.5% | New Zealand |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education, Australia or New Zealand?
- New Zealand, at 79.3% against 78.8% in Australia as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education between Australia and New Zealand?
- 0.5%, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and New Zealand?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2022.
- How do Australia and New Zealand rank globally for share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education?
- Australia ranks 13th and New Zealand ranks 12th of 59 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of students who achieve minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education. This data includes only students enrolled in school.