Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Australia
Australia: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years was 12.95 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Australia, 1971–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Australia recorded 12.95 for mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in 2022. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Australia peaked at 12.95 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 8.44, in 1971.
Australia ranks 18th of 121 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 8.44 | — |
| 2004 | 11.36 | +34.6% |
| 2005 | 11.41 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 11.56 | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 11.65 | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 11.91 | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 11.97 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 12.04 | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 12.15 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 12.31 | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 12.04 | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 12.13 | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 12.24 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 12.36 | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 12.35 | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 12.53 | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 12.61 | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 12.73 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 12.85 | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 12.95 | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.44 | 8.44 | 8.44 | 1 |
| 2000s | 11.64 | 11.36 | 11.97 | 6 |
| 2010s | 12.28 | 12.04 | 12.61 | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.84 | 12.73 | 12.95 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More education data for Australia
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0835 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Australia?
- Mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Australia was 12.95 in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 12.95 in 2022.
- What is the lowest mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.44 in 1971.
- How does Australia rank for mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years?
- Australia ranks 18th out of 121 countries with data for 2022.
- Is mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. 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 Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, female. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release