Over-age students, primary in Australia

Australia: Over-age students, primary was 3.8% in 2017. ▼ Falling

Latest (2017)
3.8%
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
115th
of 191 countries
All-time high
7.3%
in 1974
All-time low
3.8%
in 2016
Years of data
46
1971–2017

Over-age students, primary in Australia, 1971–2017

02468197119942017

Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of enrollment.

Analysis

In 2017, over-age students, primary in Australia stood at 3.8%.

That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and down 44.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, over-age students, primary in Australia peaked at 7.3% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 2016.

That places Australia 115th out of 191 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 46 years of available data.

Over-age students, primary in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Over-age students, primary (% of enrollment) in Australia, 1971 to 2017.
Year % of enrollment Change
1971 7.0%
1973 7.1% +1.5%
1974 7.3% +2.5%
1975 7.1% -3.2%
1976 6.8% -3.4%
1977 6.3% -7.1%
1978 5.9% -6.2%
1979 5.9% -0.8%
1980 5.8% -1.5%
1981 5.7% -2.7%
1982 5.8% +1.9%
1983 6.3% +9.1%
1984 6.7% +6.5%
1985 5.6% -16.3%
1986 5.6% +0.1%
1987 5.5% -2.0%
1988 5.4% -1.8%
1989 5.5% +1.5%
1990 5.5% +1.0%
1991 6.0% +7.9%
1992 6.1% +2.1%
1993 6.5% +6.1%
1994 6.6% +2.5%
1995 6.0% -9.5%
1996 5.9% -2.2%
1997 5.9% +0.2%
1998 5.9% +0.0%
1999 6.0% +1.3%
2000 6.1% +1.6%
2001 6.1% +0.9%
2002 6.3% +3.6%
2003 6.4% +1.5%
2004 6.6% +2.9%
2005 6.6% +0.0%
2006 6.7% +1.9%
2007 6.8% +0.6%
2008 6.5% -3.4%
2009 6.6% +0.9%
2010 7.2% +9.0%
2011 7.3% +0.9%
2012 7.2% -1.1%
2013 7.0% -2.6%
2014 6.9% -0.7%
2015 3.8% -45.4%
2016 3.8% -0.9%
2017 3.8% +0.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 6.7% 5.9% 7.3% 8
1980s 5.8% 5.4% 6.7% 10
1990s 6.0% 5.5% 6.6% 10
2000s 6.5% 6.1% 6.8% 10
2010s 5.9% 3.8% 7.3% 8

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 112 Brunei Darussalam 4.1% compare
  2. 113 Macau, China 4.0% compare
  3. 114 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.9% compare
  4. 116 Seychelles 3.6% compare
  5. 117 Antigua and Barbuda 3.6% compare
  6. 118 Luxembourg 3.5% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More education data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is over-age students, primary in Australia?
Over-age students, primary in Australia was 3.8% in 2017, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest over-age students, primary recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 7.3% in 1974.
What is the lowest over-age students, primary recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 2016.
How does Australia rank for over-age students, primary?
Australia ranks 115th out of 191 countries with data for 2017.
Is over-age students, primary rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 44.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Over-age students, primary (% of enrollment). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Over-age students, primary in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/over-age-students-primary-percent-of-enrollment/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Over-age students, primary (% of enrollment)
Unit
% of enrollment
Source
Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,461 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Over-age students are the percentage of those enrolled who are older than the official school-age range for primary education.