Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Australia
Australia: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 5.1% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Australia, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 5.1% for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 35.5% on the previous year and down 68.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Australia peaked at 48.9% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 5.1%, in 2024.
Australia ranks 116th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 46.4% | — |
| 2002 | 47.5% | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 35.8% | -24.6% |
| 2004 | 35.4% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 37.9% | +6.9% |
| 2006 | 37.8% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 48.4% | +28.0% |
| 2008 | 47.7% | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 48.3% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 48.9% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 18.7% | -61.8% |
| 2014 | 16.3% | -13.1% |
| 2015 | 12.0% | -26.2% |
| 2016 | 9.4% | -21.7% |
| 2017 | 13.4% | +42.3% |
| 2018 | 12.9% | -3.4% |
| 2019 | 15.0% | +15.7% |
| 2020 | 15.9% | +6.5% |
| 2021 | 13.1% | -17.6% |
| 2022 | 8.4% | -36.1% |
| 2023 | 8.0% | -5.0% |
| 2024 | 5.1% | -35.5% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 5.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.8%, 1.3× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Australia's 5.1% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.6%, 35% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 42.8% | 35.4% | 48.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 18.3% | 9.4% | 48.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 10.1% | 5.1% | 15.9% | 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 one year before the official primary in Australia?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Australia was 5.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 48.9% in 2010.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.1% in 2024.
- How does Australia rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Australia ranks 116th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 68.4%. 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 one year before the official primary entry age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release