Share of the population with a completed post secondary education in Australia
Australia: Share of the population with a completed post secondary education was 52.42 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with a completed post secondary education in Australia, 1971–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Australia recorded 52.42 for share of the population with a completed post secondary education in 2024.
That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and up 18.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with a completed post secondary education in Australia peaked at 53.86 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 21.5, in 1971.
That places Australia 12th out of 110 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Share of the population with a completed post secondary education in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 21.5 | — |
| 2001 | 47.08 | +119.0% |
| 2004 | 33.37 | -29.1% |
| 2005 | 34.2 | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 35.73 | +4.5% |
| 2007 | 36.74 | +2.8% |
| 2008 | 39.36 | +7.1% |
| 2009 | 40.56 | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 41.8 | +3.1% |
| 2011 | 42.7 | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 46.46 | +8.8% |
| 2013 | 41.64 | -10.4% |
| 2014 | 44.26 | +6.3% |
| 2015 | 45.35 | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 46.47 | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 47.67 | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 48.3 | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 49.62 | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 51.56 | +3.9% |
| 2021 | 52.37 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 53.86 | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 51.67 | -4.1% |
| 2024 | 52.42 | +1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 21.5 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 1 |
| 2000s | 38.15 | 33.37 | 47.08 | 7 |
| 2010s | 45.43 | 41.64 | 49.62 | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.38 | 51.56 | 53.86 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More education data for Australia
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 105,469 (1999)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.2% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 99.61 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 99.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with a completed post secondary education in Australia?
- Share of the population with a completed post secondary education in Australia was 52.42 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with a completed post secondary education recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 53.86 in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of the population with a completed post secondary education recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.5 in 1971.
- How does Australia rank for share of the population with a completed post secondary education?
- Australia ranks 12th out of 110 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population with a completed post secondary education rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.5%. 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 Share of the population with a completed post secondary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).