Secondary education, general pupils in Australia
Australia: Secondary education, general pupils was 1.68 million in 2017. ▲ Rising
Latest (2017)
1.68 million
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
53rd
of 204 countries
All-time high
1.68 million
in 2017
All-time low
956,210
in 1970
Years of data
48
1970–2017
Secondary education, general pupils in Australia, 1970–2017
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Analysis
In 2017, secondary education, general pupils in Australia stood at 1.68 million. That is the highest value across all 48 years on record.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 11.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, secondary education, general pupils in Australia peaked at 1.68 million in 2017 and was at its lowest, 956,210, in 1970.
Australia ranks 53rd of 204 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
Secondary education, general pupils in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 956,210 | — |
| 1971 | 977,898 | +2.3% |
| 1972 | 1.02 million | +4.0% |
| 1973 | 1.04 million | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 1.06 million | +2.0% |
| 1975 | 1.10 million | +3.8% |
| 1976 | 1.12 million | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 1.12 million | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 1.12 million | -0.4% |
| 1979 | 1.10 million | -1.2% |
| 1980 | 1.10 million | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 1.12 million | +1.4% |
| 1982 | 1.15 million | +2.7% |
| 1983 | 1.21 million | +5.3% |
| 1984 | 1.26 million | +4.1% |
| 1985 | 1.28 million | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 1.29 million | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 1.30 million | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 1.30 million | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 1.28 million | -1.5% |
| 1990 | 1.28 million | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 1.29 million | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 1.29 million | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 1.28 million | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 1.27 million | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 1.28 million | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 1.29 million | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 1.32 million | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 1.35 million | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 1.37 million | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 1.38 million | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 1.39 million | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 1.41 million | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 1.44 million | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 1.45 million | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 1.47 million | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 1.49 million | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 1.50 million | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 1.51 million | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 1.53 million | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 1.53 million | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 1.54 million | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 1.55 million | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 1.57 million | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 1.58 million | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 1.65 million | +4.8% |
| 2016 | 1.67 million | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 1.68 million | +0.7% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 1.68 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 229,383, 7.3× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Australia's 1.68 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 141,712, 11.9× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.06 million | 956,210 | 1.12 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.23 million | 1.10 million | 1.30 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.30 million | 1.27 million | 1.37 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.46 million | 1.38 million | 1.53 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.60 million | 1.53 million | 1.68 million | 8 |
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 secondary education, general pupils in Australia?
- Secondary education, general pupils in Australia was 1.68 million in 2017, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest secondary education, general pupils recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.68 million in 2017.
- What is the lowest secondary education, general pupils recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 956,210 in 1970.
- How does Australia rank for secondary education, general pupils?
- Australia ranks 53rd out of 204 countries with data for 2017.
- Is secondary education, general pupils rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Secondary education, general pupils. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.