Share of children in primary school age who are in school in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 97.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in New Zealand, 1820–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 97.4% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in New Zealand peaked at 100.0% in 1885 and was at its lowest, 56.3%, in 1820.
New Zealand ranks 86th of 209 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 56.3% | — |
| 1825 | 59.0% | +4.8% |
| 1830 | 61.7% | +4.5% |
| 1835 | 64.3% | +4.2% |
| 1840 | 66.8% | +3.9% |
| 1845 | 69.2% | +3.7% |
| 1850 | 71.6% | +3.4% |
| 1855 | 73.8% | +3.1% |
| 1860 | 76.0% | +2.9% |
| 1865 | 78.0% | +2.6% |
| 1870 | 79.9% | +2.4% |
| 1875 | 81.6% | +2.2% |
| 1880 | 99.7% | +22.1% |
| 1885 | 100.0% | +0.3% |
| 1890 | 98.4% | -1.6% |
| 1895 | 94.7% | -3.8% |
| 1900 | 95.7% | +1.0% |
| 1905 | 99.3% | +3.8% |
| 1910 | 100.0% | +0.7% |
| 1915 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 91.8% | -8.2% |
| 1935 | 93.4% | +1.7% |
| 1940 | 90.4% | -3.3% |
| 1945 | 95.2% | +5.3% |
| 1950 | 95.4% | +0.3% |
| 1955 | 94.4% | -1.0% |
| 1960 | 77.0% | -18.5% |
| 1965 | 78.0% | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 100.0% | +28.2% |
| 1975 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 99.4% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 99.1% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 98.8% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 98.8% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 98.7% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 98.7% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 99.0% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 98.7% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 98.7% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 97.5% | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 97.7% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 97.4% | -0.3% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 97.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 98.2%, 99% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 97.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 97.4%, 1.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +28.2% | 78.0% | 100.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 57.6% | 56.3% | 59.0% | 2 |
| 1830s | 63.0% | 61.7% | 64.3% | 2 |
| 1840s | 68.0% | 66.8% | 69.2% | 2 |
| 1850s | 72.7% | 71.6% | 73.8% | 2 |
| 1860s | 77.0% | 76.0% | 78.0% | 2 |
| 1870s | 80.8% | 79.9% | 81.6% | 2 |
| 1880s | 99.8% | 99.7% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1890s | 96.6% | 94.7% | 98.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 97.5% | 95.7% | 99.3% | 2 |
| 1910s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1920s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1930s | 92.6% | 91.8% | 93.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 92.8% | 90.4% | 95.2% | 2 |
| 1950s | 94.9% | 94.4% | 95.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 77.5% | 77.0% | 78.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 1 |
| 2010s | 98.9% | 98.7% | 99.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 98.0% | 97.4% | 98.7% | 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 share of children in primary school age who are in school in New Zealand?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in New Zealand was 97.4% 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 New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1885.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.3% in 1820.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- New Zealand ranks 86th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. 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 (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 — 45 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.