Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master urban both in Australia
Australia: Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master urban both was 12.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent in Australia, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in Australia stood at 12.6%. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.4% on the previous year and up 85.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in Australia peaked at 12.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 2002.
That places Australia 32nd out of 67 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master urban both in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 3.1% | — |
| 2002 | 3.0% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 3.7% | +21.2% |
| 2004 | 3.6% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 3.9% | +9.1% |
| 2006 | 4.0% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 4.2% | +3.4% |
| 2008 | 4.7% | +12.1% |
| 2009 | 4.4% | -5.7% |
| 2010 | 4.6% | +5.4% |
| 2011 | 6.5% | +40.5% |
| 2012 | 7.3% | +12.7% |
| 2013 | 6.0% | -18.9% |
| 2014 | 6.8% | +13.8% |
| 2015 | 7.3% | +7.5% |
| 2016 | 7.3% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 7.9% | +9.2% |
| 2018 | 8.4% | +5.8% |
| 2019 | 9.0% | +6.9% |
| 2020 | 10.1% | +12.5% |
| 2021 | 10.3% | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 10.5% | +2.5% |
| 2023 | 11.8% | +12.4% |
| 2024 | 12.6% | +6.4% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 12.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 16.7%, 76% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Australia's 12.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.2%, 4.0× the median. (9 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.8% | 3.0% | 4.7% | 9 |
| 2010s | 7.1% | 4.6% | 9.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.1% | 10.1% | 12.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
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 master's or equivalent in Australia?
- Educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in Australia was 12.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 12.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 2002.
- How does Australia rank for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent?
- Australia ranks 32nd out of 67 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 85.8%. 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 Master's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, 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