Primary education, pupils in Australia
Australia: Primary education, pupils was 2.27 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.27 million
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
65th
of 206 countries
All-time high
2.27 million
in 2024
All-time low
1.51 million
in 1987
Years of data
54
1971–2024
Primary education, pupils in Australia, 1971–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Analysis
In 2024, primary education, pupils in Australia stood at 2.27 million. That is the highest value across all 54 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary education, pupils in Australia peaked at 2.27 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.51 million, in 1987.
Australia ranks 65th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Primary education, pupils in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.69 million | — |
| 1972 | 1.68 million | -0.2% |
| 1973 | 1.67 million | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 1.60 million | -4.6% |
| 1975 | 1.63 million | +2.3% |
| 1976 | 1.64 million | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 1.67 million | +2.0% |
| 1978 | 1.70 million | +1.7% |
| 1979 | 1.71 million | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 1.72 million | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 1.71 million | -0.4% |
| 1982 | 1.69 million | -1.2% |
| 1983 | 1.65 million | -2.4% |
| 1984 | 1.61 million | -2.7% |
| 1985 | 1.54 million | -3.9% |
| 1986 | 1.52 million | -1.4% |
| 1987 | 1.51 million | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 1.53 million | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 1.56 million | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 1.58 million | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 1.61 million | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 1.62 million | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 1.63 million | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 1.64 million | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 1.83 million | +11.8% |
| 1996 | 1.85 million | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 1.86 million | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 1.87 million | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 1.89 million | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 1.91 million | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 1.91 million | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 1.93 million | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 1.93 million | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 1.93 million | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 1.93 million | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.94 million | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 1.97 million | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 1.98 million | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 1.99 million | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 2.02 million | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 2.04 million | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 2.08 million | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 2.13 million | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 2.17 million | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 2.14 million | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 2.18 million | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 2.22 million | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 2.25 million | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 2.26 million | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 2.27 million | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 2.27 million | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 2.25 million | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 2.26 million | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 2.27 million | +0.4% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 2.27 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 236,668, 9.6× the median. (78 countries reporting)
- Australia's 2.27 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 227,656, 10.0× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.67 million | 1.60 million | 1.71 million | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.60 million | 1.51 million | 1.72 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.74 million | 1.58 million | 1.89 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.94 million | 1.91 million | 1.99 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.15 million | 2.02 million | 2.26 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.26 million | 2.25 million | 2.27 million | 5 |
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 primary education, pupils in Australia?
- Primary education, pupils in Australia was 2.27 million in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest primary education, pupils recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.27 million in 2024.
- What is the lowest primary education, pupils recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.51 million in 1987.
- How does Australia rank for primary education, pupils?
- Australia ranks 65th out of 206 countries with data for 2024.
- Is primary education, pupils rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Primary education, pupils. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Primary education pupils is the total number of pupils enrolled at primary level in public and private schools.