Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both in Australia
Australia: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both was 36.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
36.8%
Change on year
up 2.8%
World rank
10th
of 112 countries
All-time high
36.8%
in 2022
All-time low
19.9%
in 2001
Years of data
24
2001–2024
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Australia, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Australia stood at 36.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 28.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Australia peaked at 36.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 19.9%, in 2001.
Australia ranks 10th of 112 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 19.9% | — |
| 2002 | 20.0% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 20.5% | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 21.0% | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 21.9% | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 22.1% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 22.7% | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 23.9% | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 24.0% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 25.1% | +4.4% |
| 2011 | 28.2% | +12.7% |
| 2012 | 29.0% | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 26.7% | -7.9% |
| 2014 | 28.6% | +7.0% |
| 2015 | 29.8% | +4.1% |
| 2016 | 30.0% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 31.4% | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 31.7% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 33.1% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 35.0% | +5.8% |
| 2021 | 36.0% | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 36.8% | +2.5% |
| 2023 | 35.8% | -2.9% |
| 2024 | 36.8% | +2.8% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 36.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.7%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Australia's 36.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.0%, 2.3× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 21.8% | 19.9% | 24.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 29.4% | 25.1% | 33.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.1% | 35.0% | 36.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 7 United States 39.1% compare
- 8 Israel 38.3% compare
- 9 Belgium 37.4% compare
- 11 Netherlands 36.6% compare
- 12 South Korea 36.5% compare
- 13 Singapore 36.2% compare
More education data for Australia
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.9 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.88 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 104,110 (1992)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 316,638 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 292,593 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.65 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.27 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.4362 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Australia?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Australia was 36.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 36.8% in 2022.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.9% in 2001.
- How does Australia rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- Australia ranks 10th out of 112 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release