Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Australia
Australia: Share of children who are not in pre-primary school was 5.1% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Australia, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 5.1% for share of children who are not in pre-primary school in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of down 34.7% on the previous year and down 68.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Australia peaked at 48.6% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 5.1%, in 2024.
That places Australia 121st out of 179 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 42.6% | 35.4% | 48.2% | 9 |
| 2010s | 18.1% | 8.8% | 48.6% | 8 |
| 2020s | 10.0% | 5.1% | 15.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More education data for Australia
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.2% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 99.6% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 105,469 (1999)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.64 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 99.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Australia?
- Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Australia was 5.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 48.6% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.1% in 2024.
- How does Australia rank for share of children who are not in pre-primary school?
- Australia ranks 121st out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are not in pre-primary school rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 68.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are not in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Children one year before the official primary entry age (typically age 5) not enrolled in pre-primary education, expressed as a percentage of all children in that age group.