Share of the population with at least some formal education in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 98.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
98.3%
World rank
36th
of 111 countries
All-time high
99.9%
in 1990
All-time low
70.9%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in New Zealand, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of the population with at least some formal education in New Zealand stood at 98.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in New Zealand peaked at 99.9% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 70.9%, in 1870.
That places New Zealand 36th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 70.9% | — |
| 1875 | 72.3% | +2.0% |
| 1880 | 74.6% | +3.2% |
| 1885 | 78.2% | +4.8% |
| 1890 | 81.2% | +3.8% |
| 1895 | 84.4% | +3.9% |
| 1900 | 87.1% | +3.2% |
| 1905 | 90.2% | +3.6% |
| 1910 | 91.1% | +1.0% |
| 1915 | 93.2% | +2.3% |
| 1920 | 94.8% | +1.7% |
| 1925 | 95.7% | +0.9% |
| 1930 | 97.0% | +1.4% |
| 1935 | 97.7% | +0.7% |
| 1940 | 97.7% | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 98.0% | +0.3% |
| 1950 | 98.3% | +0.3% |
| 1955 | 98.5% | +0.2% |
| 1960 | 98.4% | -0.1% |
| 1965 | 98.1% | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 98.3% | +0.2% |
| 1975 | 99.5% | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 99.3% | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 99.7% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 99.9% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 98.9% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 98.6% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 98.3% | -0.3% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 98.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 99% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 98.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.3%, 1.0× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 71.6% | 70.9% | 72.3% | 2 |
| 1880s | 76.4% | 74.6% | 78.2% | 2 |
| 1890s | 82.8% | 81.2% | 84.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 88.7% | 87.1% | 90.2% | 2 |
| 1910s | 92.2% | 91.1% | 93.2% | 2 |
| 1920s | 95.2% | 94.8% | 95.7% | 2 |
| 1930s | 97.3% | 97.0% | 97.7% | 2 |
| 1940s | 97.8% | 97.7% | 98.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 98.4% | 98.3% | 98.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 98.2% | 98.1% | 98.4% | 2 |
| 1970s | 98.9% | 98.3% | 99.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 99.5% | 99.3% | 99.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 98.8% | 98.6% | 98.9% | 2 |
| 2020s | 98.3% | 98.3% | 98.3% | 1 |
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 share of the population with at least some formal education in New Zealand?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in New Zealand was 98.3% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 70.9% in 1870.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- New Zealand ranks 36th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the population aged 15 years and older.