School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Australia
Australia: School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) was 2.29 million number in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
2.29 million number
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
62nd
of 206 countries
All-time high
2.29 million number
in 2020
All-time low
1.43 million number
in 1987
Years of data
51
1970–2020
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Australia, 1970–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.
Analysis
In 2020, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Australia stood at 2.29 million number. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 20.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Australia peaked at 2.29 million number in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.43 million number, in 1987.
Australia ranks 62nd of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Australia, year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.51 million number | — |
| 1971 | 1.52 million number | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 1.52 million number | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 1.52 million number | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1.52 million number | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 1.51 million number | -0.5% |
| 1976 | 1.50 million number | -0.5% |
| 1977 | 1.50 million number | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 1.51 million number | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 1.53 million number | +1.1% |
| 1980 | 1.55 million number | +1.2% |
| 1981 | 1.56 million number | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 1.56 million number | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 1.54 million number | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 1.51 million number | -2.0% |
| 1985 | 1.47 million number | -2.5% |
| 1986 | 1.44 million number | -1.9% |
| 1987 | 1.43 million number | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 1.44 million number | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 1.46 million number | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 1.49 million number | +2.1% |
| 1991 | 1.51 million number | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 1.53 million number | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 1.54 million number | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 1.55 million number | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 1.81 million number | +16.8% |
| 1996 | 1.82 million number | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 1.83 million number | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 1.85 million number | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 1.87 million number | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 1.89 million number | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 1.90 million number | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 1.90 million number | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 1.90 million number | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 1.89 million number | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 1.88 million number | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 1.88 million number | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 1.88 million number | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.88 million number | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 1.89 million number | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 1.91 million number | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 1.93 million number | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 1.97 million number | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 2.01 million number | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 2.06 million number | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 2.11 million number | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 2.16 million number | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 2.21 million number | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 2.24 million number | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 2.27 million number | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 2.29 million number | +0.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 2.29 million number is above the median for high income countries, which is 227,912 number, 10.1× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Australia's 2.29 million number is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 183,594 number, 12.5× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.51 million number | 1.50 million number | 1.53 million number | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.49 million number | 1.43 million number | 1.56 million number | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.68 million number | 1.49 million number | 1.87 million number | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.89 million number | 1.88 million number | 1.90 million number | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.09 million number | 1.91 million number | 2.27 million number | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.29 million number | 2.29 million number | 2.29 million number | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More education data for Australia
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.9 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.88 (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Australia?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Australia was 2.29 million number in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.29 million number in 2020.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.43 million number in 1987.
- How does Australia rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Australia ranks 62nd out of 206 countries with data for 2020.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.1%. 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, published as part of School age population, primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to primary education as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration.