Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia
Australia: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 20.6% 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 20.6%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.9% on the previous year and up 16.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia peaked at 20.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 13.1%, in 2003.
Australia ranks 12th of 123 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 | 14.8% | — |
| 2000 | 14.7% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 13.7% | -6.2% |
| 2003 | 13.1% | -4.6% |
| 2005 | 13.4% | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 13.6% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 13.7% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 14.9% | +8.2% |
| 2009 | 15.3% | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 16.6% | +8.4% |
| 2013 | 17.7% | +6.6% |
| 2014 | 18.6% | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 19.3% | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 18.3% | -5.4% |
| 2018 | 17.5% | -4.3% |
| 2019 | 18.3% | +4.9% |
| 2020 | 17.8% | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 18.8% | +5.6% |
| 2022 | 20.0% | +6.5% |
| 2023 | 20.6% | +2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.8% | 14.8% | 14.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 14.1% | 13.1% | 15.3% | 8 |
| 2010s | 18.0% | 16.6% | 19.3% | 7 |
| 2020s | 19.3% | 17.8% | 20.6% | 4 |
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 graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia was 20.6% 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 20.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.1% in 2003.
- How does Australia rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Australia ranks 12th out of 123 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 up 16.5%. 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 Health and Welfare programmes, 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