Secondary education, pupils in Australia
Australia: Secondary education, pupils was 2.65 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Secondary education, pupils in Australia, 1970–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Analysis
The most recent figure for secondary education, pupils in Australia is 2.65 million, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, secondary education, pupils in Australia peaked at 2.71 million in 2015 and was at its lowest, 1.14 million, in 1970.
Australia ranks 44th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Secondary education, pupils in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.14 million | — |
| 1993 | 2.03 million | +78.5% |
| 1994 | 2.00 million | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 2.18 million | +8.9% |
| 1996 | 2.28 million | +4.5% |
| 1997 | 2.37 million | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 2.71 million | +14.4% |
| 2016 | 2.66 million | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 2.65 million | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 2.38 million | -10.2% |
| 2019 | 2.57 million | +8.1% |
| 2020 | 2.52 million | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 2.53 million | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 2.55 million | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 2.63 million | +3.1% |
| 2024 | 2.65 million | +0.4% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 2.65 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 307,015, 8.6× the median. (78 countries reporting)
- Australia's 2.65 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 162,113, 16.3× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Secondary education, pupils 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +78.5% | 1.14 million | 2.03 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.14 million | 1.14 million | 1.14 million | 1 |
| 1990s | 2.17 million | 2.00 million | 2.37 million | 5 |
| 2010s | 2.59 million | 2.38 million | 2.71 million | 5 |
| 2020s | 2.58 million | 2.52 million | 2.65 million | 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 secondary education, pupils in Australia?
- Secondary education, pupils in Australia was 2.65 million in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest secondary education, pupils recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.71 million in 2015.
- What is the lowest secondary education, pupils recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.14 million in 1970.
- How does Australia rank for secondary education, pupils?
- Australia ranks 44th out of 206 countries with data for 2024.
- Is secondary education, pupils rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Secondary education, pupils. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Secondary education pupils is the total number of pupils enrolled at secondary level in public and private schools.