School enrolment in Australia
Australia: School enrolment was 85.8 in 2024. ▲ Rising
School enrolment in Australia, 2001–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Australia recorded 85.8 for school enrolment in 2024. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 76.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school enrolment in Australia peaked at 85.8 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 30.09, in 2010.
That places Australia 48th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
School enrolment in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 36.95 | — |
| 2002 | 35.21 | -4.7% |
| 2003 | 41.08 | +16.7% |
| 2004 | 41.61 | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 40.29 | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 39.99 | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 31.65 | -20.9% |
| 2008 | 31.64 | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 31.03 | -1.9% |
| 2010 | 30.09 | -3.0% |
| 2013 | 46.89 | +55.8% |
| 2014 | 48.75 | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 53.71 | +10.2% |
| 2016 | 73.66 | +37.1% |
| 2017 | 72.15 | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 72.68 | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 72.75 | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 72.17 | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 76.36 | +5.8% |
| 2022 | 82.59 | +8.2% |
| 2023 | 84.03 | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 85.8 | +2.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 85.8 is below the median for high income countries, which is 87.07, 99% of the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Australia's 85.8 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 68.08, 1.3× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School enrolment in Australia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | +55.8% | 30.09 | 46.89 |
| 2016 | +37.1% | 53.71 | 73.66 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 36.61 | 31.03 | 41.61 | 9 |
| 2010s | 58.84 | 30.09 | 73.66 | 8 |
| 2020s | 80.19 | 72.17 | 85.8 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 45 Cayman Islands 87.01 compare
- 46 Cook Islands 86.1 compare
- 47 Austria 86.03 compare
- 49 Czechia 85.34 compare
- 50 Dominica 83.94 compare
- 51 New Zealand 83.84 compare
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 enrolment in Australia?
- School enrolment in Australia was 85.8 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest school enrolment recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 85.8 in 2024.
- What is the lowest school enrolment recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.09 in 2010.
- How does Australia rank for school enrolment?
- Australia ranks 48th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school enrolment rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 76.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of School enrolment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).