Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Australia
Australia: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
99.9%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
12th
of 209 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 1880
All-time low
35.2%
in 1820
Years of data
58
1820–2024
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Australia, 1820–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children in primary school age who are in school in Australia is 99.9%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Australia peaked at 100.0% in 1880 and was at its lowest, 35.2%, in 1820.
That places Australia 12th out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 58 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 35.2% | — |
| 1825 | 37.7% | +7.3% |
| 1830 | 40.4% | +7.0% |
| 1835 | 43.0% | +6.7% |
| 1840 | 45.8% | +6.3% |
| 1845 | 48.5% | +6.0% |
| 1850 | 51.3% | +5.7% |
| 1855 | 54.1% | +5.4% |
| 1860 | 56.8% | +5.1% |
| 1865 | 66.6% | +17.3% |
| 1870 | 76.5% | +14.8% |
| 1875 | 88.2% | +15.4% |
| 1880 | 100.0% | +13.3% |
| 1885 | 98.4% | -1.6% |
| 1890 | 96.8% | -1.6% |
| 1895 | 98.4% | +1.7% |
| 1900 | 100.0% | +1.6% |
| 1905 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 99.5% | -0.5% |
| 1940 | 99.0% | -0.5% |
| 1945 | 98.6% | -0.5% |
| 1950 | 98.1% | -0.5% |
| 1955 | 100.0% | +1.9% |
| 1960 | 81.5% | -18.5% |
| 1965 | 78.3% | -3.9% |
| 1970 | 91.0% | +16.2% |
| 1975 | 96.0% | +5.5% |
| 1980 | 100.0% | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 95.3% | -4.7% |
| 2001 | 99.5% | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 99.7% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 98.6% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 98.9% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 99.4% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 99.5% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 99.7% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 97.3% | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 97.7% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 100.0% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 99.9% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 99.9% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 99.8% | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 99.4% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 99.6% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 99.7% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 99.8% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 99.9% | +0.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 99.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 98.2%, 1.0× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Australia's 99.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 97.4%, 1.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 36.4% | 35.2% | 37.7% | 2 |
| 1830s | 41.7% | 40.4% | 43.0% | 2 |
| 1840s | 47.2% | 45.8% | 48.5% | 2 |
| 1850s | 52.7% | 51.3% | 54.1% | 2 |
| 1860s | 61.7% | 56.8% | 66.6% | 2 |
| 1870s | 82.3% | 76.5% | 88.2% | 2 |
| 1880s | 99.2% | 98.4% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1890s | 97.6% | 96.8% | 98.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1920s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1930s | 99.8% | 99.5% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 98.8% | 98.6% | 99.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 99.0% | 98.1% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 79.9% | 78.3% | 81.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 93.5% | 91.0% | 96.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 99.0% | 95.3% | 99.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 99.4% | 97.3% | 100.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.7% | 99.4% | 99.9% | 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 share of children in primary school age who are in school in Australia?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Australia was 99.9% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1880.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.2% in 1820.
- How does Australia rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Australia ranks 12th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. 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 (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 58 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.