Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in New Zealand
New Zealand: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 10.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in New Zealand, 2005–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 10.5% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2024. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 6.4% on the previous year and up 49.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in New Zealand peaked at 10.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.5%, in 2005.
That places New Zealand 26th out of 122 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 6.5% | — |
| 2013 | 7.3% | +12.7% |
| 2014 | 7.0% | -4.3% |
| 2015 | 6.9% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 7.0% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 6.8% | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 6.6% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 7.5% | +13.7% |
| 2020 | 7.6% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 8.0% | +5.5% |
| 2022 | 10.0% | +25.0% |
| 2023 | 9.9% | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 10.5% | +6.4% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 10.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.2%, 1.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 10.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.0%, 2.1× the median. (15 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.5% | 6.5% | 6.5% | 1 |
| 2010s | 7.0% | 6.6% | 7.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 9.2% | 7.6% | 10.5% | 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 graduates from tertiary education graduating from in New Zealand?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in New Zealand was 10.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 10.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.5% in 2005.
- How does New Zealand rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- New Zealand ranks 26th out of 122 countries with data for 2024.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 49.6%. 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 graduates from tertiary education graduating from Health and Welfare programmes, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release