Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia
Australia: Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary was 78.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia, 1971–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in cumulative.
Analysis
Australia recorded 78.1% for educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in 2024.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 10.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia peaked at 80.7% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 1971.
That places Australia 37th out of 141 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia, year by year
| Year | cumulative | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 10.0% | — |
| 2001 | 50.9% | +409.3% |
| 2002 | 52.0% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 53.9% | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 58.6% | +8.7% |
| 2005 | 60.3% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 62.6% | +3.8% |
| 2007 | 64.2% | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 67.2% | +4.7% |
| 2009 | 68.2% | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 70.6% | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 72.6% | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 75.0% | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 70.1% | -6.5% |
| 2014 | 71.0% | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 73.4% | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 74.6% | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 75.5% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 76.9% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 77.8% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 79.1% | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 79.8% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 80.7% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 77.4% | -4.1% |
| 2024 | 78.1% | +1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10.0% | 10.0% | 10.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 59.8% | 50.9% | 68.2% | 9 |
| 2010s | 73.8% | 70.1% | 77.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.0% | 77.4% | 80.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More education data for Australia
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,024 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0494 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 105,469 (1999)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia?
- Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia was 78.1% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 80.7% in 2022.
- What is the lowest educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 1971.
- How does Australia rank for educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary?
- Australia ranks 37th out of 141 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary, population 25+, female (%) (cumulative). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed upper secondary education.