Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in New Zealand
New Zealand: Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions was 90.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in New Zealand, 2013–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 90.0% for percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in 2024.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in New Zealand peaked at 90.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 85.0%, in 2015.
That places New Zealand 29th out of 155 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 87.6% | — |
| 2014 | 86.3% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 85.0% | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 85.2% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 86.1% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 86.7% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 90.2% | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 90.0% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 90.1% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 90.8% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 90.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 90.0% | -0.8% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 90.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 80.5%, 1.1× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 90.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 76.1%, 1.2× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 86.7% | 85.0% | 90.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 90.3% | 90.0% | 90.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More education data for New Zealand
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 36,426 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,020 (1992)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 56,552 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 53,804 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 562,417 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 383,018 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0724 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in New Zealand?
- Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in New Zealand was 90.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 90.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 85.0% in 2015.
- How does New Zealand rank for percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions?
- New Zealand ranks 29th out of 155 countries with data for 2024.
- Is percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release