Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia
Australia: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 39.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia is 39.0%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and down 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia peaked at 42.6% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 34.2%, in 1999.
Australia ranks 14th of 122 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 34.2% | — |
| 2000 | 35.4% | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 35.8% | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 36.4% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 36.9% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 38.7% | +4.9% |
| 2007 | 41.6% | +7.2% |
| 2008 | 41.8% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 42.6% | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 42.4% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 40.8% | -3.9% |
| 2014 | 39.4% | -3.4% |
| 2015 | 38.1% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 37.3% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 40.4% | +8.1% |
| 2019 | 40.6% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 40.2% | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 39.5% | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 39.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 39.0% | -1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 34.2% | 34.2% | 34.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 38.6% | 35.4% | 42.6% | 8 |
| 2010s | 39.8% | 37.3% | 42.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 39.5% | 39.0% | 40.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 11 Seychelles 42.0% compare
- 12 United Arab Emirates 42.0% compare
- 13 Qatar 41.5% compare
- 15 Saudi Arabia 38.9% compare
- 16 Mauritius 38.9% compare
- 17 Belize 37.6% compare
More education data for Australia
- 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)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 2.27 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia was 39.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 42.6% in 2009.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.2% in 1999.
- How does Australia rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Australia ranks 14th out of 122 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Business, Administration and Law programmes, male (%). 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