Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Australia
Australia: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 0.8% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Australia, 2011–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Australia stood at 0.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.8% on the previous year and up 1,354.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Australia peaked at 1.7% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2016.
That places Australia 157th out of 181 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1.7% | — |
| 2012 | 1.5% | -15.6% |
| 2013 | 0.1% | -96.2% |
| 2014 | 0.1% | -6.0% |
| 2015 | 0.0% | -35.2% |
| 2016 | 0.0% | -41.5% |
| 2017 | 0.1% | +174.0% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | +264.9% |
| 2019 | 0.3% | +27.9% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | +126.3% |
| 2021 | 0.6% | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 0.8% | +30.9% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 0.8% | -5.8% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 0.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.8%, 43% of the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Australia's 0.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.9%, 20% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | +264.9% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.0% | 1.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 5 |
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 out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Australia?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Australia was 0.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.7% in 2011.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2016.
- How does Australia rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Australia ranks 157th out of 181 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1,354.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release