Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia
Australia: Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary was 79.9% 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 79.9% for educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in 2024.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 8.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia peaked at 81.7% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 21.5%, in 1971.
Australia ranks 38th of 142 countries on this measure, 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 | 21.5% | — |
| 2001 | 59.3% | +175.9% |
| 2002 | 60.5% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 61.2% | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 64.1% | +4.8% |
| 2005 | 65.0% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 66.7% | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 68.2% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 70.1% | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 70.9% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 72.8% | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 74.1% | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 76.5% | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 72.0% | -5.8% |
| 2014 | 73.6% | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 75.5% | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 76.4% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 77.3% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 78.3% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 79.0% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 80.1% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 81.1% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 81.7% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 79.0% | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 79.9% | +1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 21.5% | 21.5% | 21.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 65.1% | 59.3% | 70.9% | 9 |
| 2010s | 75.6% | 72.0% | 79.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.3% | 79.0% | 81.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More education data for Australia
- 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)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (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)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 99.61 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 99.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia?
- Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary in Australia was 79.9% 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 81.7% in 2022.
- What is the lowest educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.5% in 1971.
- How does Australia rank for educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary?
- Australia ranks 38th out of 142 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 8.6%. 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+, total (%) (cumulative). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed upper secondary education.