Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Australia
Australia: Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public was 13.2% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Australia, 2001–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 13.2% for percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of down 7.0% on the previous year and down 46.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Australia peaked at 42.0% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 13.2%, in 2021.
Australia ranks 168th of 183 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 37.4% | — |
| 2002 | 33.8% | -9.5% |
| 2003 | 42.0% | +24.1% |
| 2004 | 41.4% | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 39.9% | -3.6% |
| 2006 | 41.2% | +3.3% |
| 2007 | 23.9% | -41.8% |
| 2008 | 23.9% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 23.8% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 25.0% | +5.1% |
| 2011 | 24.5% | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 22.0% | -10.1% |
| 2013 | 36.8% | +67.0% |
| 2014 | 23.0% | -37.4% |
| 2015 | 20.6% | -10.7% |
| 2017 | 15.8% | -23.4% |
| 2018 | 15.3% | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 14.4% | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 14.2% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 13.2% | -7.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 13.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 69.4%, 19% of the median. (73 countries reporting)
- Australia's 13.2% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 67.3%, 20% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | +67.0% | 22.0% | 36.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 34.1% | 23.8% | 42.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 21.9% | 14.4% | 36.8% | 9 |
| 2020s | 13.7% | 13.2% | 14.2% | 2 |
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 percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Australia?
- Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Australia was 13.2% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 42.0% in 2003.
- What is the lowest percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.2% in 2021.
- How does Australia rank for percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public?
- Australia ranks 168th out of 183 countries with data for 2021.
- Is percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 46.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public institutions, both sexes (%). 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