Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia
Australia: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 26.7% 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 26.7%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Australia peaked at 26.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 18.4%, in 2003.
That places Australia 12th out of 122 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 | 20.0% | — |
| 2000 | 19.7% | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 19.3% | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 18.4% | -4.5% |
| 2005 | 18.5% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 18.7% | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 18.9% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 20.4% | +7.7% |
| 2009 | 20.7% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 22.4% | +8.0% |
| 2013 | 23.7% | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 24.9% | +5.0% |
| 2015 | 25.5% | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 23.6% | -7.5% |
| 2018 | 22.8% | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 24.2% | +6.2% |
| 2020 | 23.8% | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 25.0% | +5.1% |
| 2022 | 26.3% | +5.0% |
| 2023 | 26.7% | +1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.0% | 20.0% | 20.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 19.3% | 18.4% | 20.7% | 8 |
| 2010s | 23.9% | 22.4% | 25.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 25.5% | 23.8% | 26.7% | 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 26.7% 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 26.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.4% in 2003.
- How does Australia rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Australia ranks 12th 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 up 12.7%. 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, female (%). 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