Years of schooling in Australia
Australia: Years of schooling was 12.87 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
12.87
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
21st
of 192 countries
All-time high
12.87
in 2022
All-time low
11.23
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in Australia, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for years of schooling in Australia is 12.87, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, years of schooling in Australia peaked at 12.87 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 11.23, in 1990.
That places Australia 21st out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Years of schooling in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 11.23 | — |
| 1991 | 11.25 | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 11.27 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 11.29 | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 11.31 | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 11.34 | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 11.33 | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 11.32 | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 11.31 | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 11.3 | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 11.29 | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 11.34 | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 11.4 | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 11.45 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 11.51 | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 11.55 | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 11.64 | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 11.71 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 11.94 | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 11.99 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 12.03 | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 12.12 | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 12.3 | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 12.02 | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 12.17 | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 12.25 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 12.35 | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 12.32 | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 12.46 | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 12.56 | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 12.64 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 12.78 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 12.87 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 12.87 | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 12.87 is above the median for high income countries, which is 12.39, 1.0× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Australia's 12.87 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9.43, 1.4× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.29 | 11.23 | 11.34 | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.58 | 11.29 | 11.99 | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.26 | 12.02 | 12.56 | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.79 | 12.64 | 12.87 | 4 |
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 years of schooling in Australia?
- Years of schooling in Australia was 12.87 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 12.87 in 2022.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.23 in 1990.
- How does Australia rank for years of schooling?
- Australia ranks 21st out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.1%. 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 Years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).