Percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female in New Zealand
New Zealand: Percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female was 54.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female in New Zealand, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female in New Zealand stood at 54.3%. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female in New Zealand peaked at 54.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 14.5%, in 1970.
That places New Zealand 24th out of 172 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 14.5% | — |
| 1971 | 14.5% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 17.9% | +23.0% |
| 1981 | 19.9% | +11.3% |
| 1982 | 23.2% | +16.2% |
| 1983 | 21.7% | -6.1% |
| 1984 | 23.4% | +7.6% |
| 1985 | 24.3% | +3.7% |
| 1986 | 25.6% | +5.4% |
| 1987 | 28.3% | +10.6% |
| 1988 | 30.0% | +6.1% |
| 1989 | 41.5% | +38.4% |
| 1990 | 33.6% | -19.2% |
| 1991 | 38.8% | +15.5% |
| 1992 | 40.3% | +3.8% |
| 1993 | 42.0% | +4.2% |
| 1995 | 40.8% | -2.9% |
| 1996 | 40.4% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 48.7% | +20.6% |
| 2014 | 49.1% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 48.8% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 48.7% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 49.8% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 49.8% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 51.9% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 52.3% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 52.7% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 53.9% | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 53.8% | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 54.3% | +0.8% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 54.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 47.8%, 1.1× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 54.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 42.8%, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female in New Zealand changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | +38.4% | 30.0% | 41.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14.5% | 14.5% | 14.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 25.6% | 17.9% | 41.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 39.3% | 33.6% | 42.0% | 6 |
| 2010s | 49.6% | 48.7% | 51.9% | 7 |
| 2020s | 53.4% | 52.3% | 54.3% | 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 teachers in tertiary education who are female in New Zealand?
- Percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female in New Zealand was 54.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 54.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.5% in 1970.
- How does New Zealand rank for percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female?
- New Zealand ranks 24th out of 172 countries with data for 2024.
- Is percentage of teachers in tertiary education who are female rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. 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 teachers in tertiary education who are female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release