Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Australia
Australia: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both was 73.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Australia, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Australia stood at 73.1%.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 12.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Australia peaked at 74.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 48.8%, in 2001.
That places Australia 29th out of 113 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 48.8% | — |
| 2002 | 50.1% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 52.1% | +4.0% |
| 2004 | 57.6% | +10.4% |
| 2005 | 55.0% | -4.4% |
| 2006 | 57.3% | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 59.2% | +3.4% |
| 2008 | 59.8% | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 61.2% | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 65.9% | +7.7% |
| 2011 | 65.7% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 68.5% | +4.1% |
| 2013 | 62.0% | -9.5% |
| 2014 | 65.3% | +5.3% |
| 2015 | 65.6% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 67.4% | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 68.9% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 70.7% | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 70.3% | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 72.2% | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 73.6% | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 74.0% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 72.5% | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 73.1% | +0.8% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 73.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 73.5%, 99% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Australia's 73.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 31.3%, 2.3× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 55.7% | 48.8% | 61.2% | 9 |
| 2010s | 67.0% | 62.0% | 70.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 73.1% | 72.2% | 74.0% | 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 upper secondary education or in Australia?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Australia was 73.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 74.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.8% in 2001.
- How does Australia rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Australia ranks 29th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.0%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, 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