Australia vs New Zealand: Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher
Australia
52.4%
in 2024
New Zealand
51.1%
in 2020
Australia rank
12th
New Zealand rank
13th
Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher over time
- Australia
- New Zealand
How they compare
Australia currently reports 52.4% against 51.1% in New Zealand, a difference of 1.3%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 8 shared years of data; in 2001 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 12th and New Zealand ranks 13th of 110 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 | 41.4% | 38.7% | 2.7% | Australia |
| 2010s | 45.1% | 46.2% | 1.2% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 51.6% | 51.1% | 0.5% | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of the population with post-secondary education or higher, Australia or New Zealand?
- Australia, at 52.4% against 51.1% in New Zealand as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of the population with post-secondary education or higher between Australia and New Zealand?
- 1.3%, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and New Zealand?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 2001 to 2020.
- How do Australia and New Zealand rank globally for share of the population with post-secondary education or higher?
- Australia ranks 12th and New Zealand ranks 13th of 110 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of adults aged 25 and older who have completed post-secondary or tertiary education.