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AustraliaCommunity profile

New South Wales

Education institution attending

In 2021, 214,646 females in New South Wales were attending university. This represents 5.3% of the population, compared to 5.4% in Australia.

The share of New South Wales's population attending educational institutions reflects the age structure of the population, as it is influenced by the number of children attending school; proximity to tertiary education, which can mean young adults leaving home to be nearer to educational facilities and; the degree to which people are seeking out educational opportunities in adulthood, especially in their late teens and early twenties.

This data is often combined with Age Structure to identify areas with significant university student populations.

Learn more about planning education provision here.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'What type of educational institution is the person attending?'

Education institution attending
New South Wales - Total females (Usual residence)20212016Change
Type of institutionNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
Pre-school79,7422.01.862,9711.71.4+16,771
Primary school316,3077.77.8295,5397.87.9+20,768
Primary - Government214,5405.25.3202,0765.35.4+12,464
Primary - Catholic63,2801.51.560,6411.61.6+2,639
Primary - Independent38,4870.91.032,8220.91.0+5,665
Secondary school252,4996.26.2230,7686.16.0+21,731
Secondary - Government141,6053.53.5132,9033.53.4+8,702
Secondary - Catholic63,5541.61.458,3681.51.4+5,186
Secondary - Independent47,3401.21.339,4971.01.2+7,843
TAFE/Vocational112,4982.82.578,1942.12.0+34,304
University214,6465.35.4208,3175.55.5+6,329
Other41,1181.01.139,0271.01.0+2,091
Not attending2,844,62969.669.82,614,05568.969.1+230,574
Not stated226,5465.55.4265,3517.07.1-38,805
Total4,087,985100.0100.03,794,222100.0100.0+293,763
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

Dominant groups

Analysis of the share of the female population attending educational institutions in New South Wales in 2021 compared to Australia shows that there was a similar proportion attending primary school, a similar proportion attending secondary school, and a similar proportion engaged in tertiary level education.

Overall, 7.7% of the female population were attending primary school, 6.2% of the female population were attending secondary institutions, and 8.0% were learning at a tertiary level, compared with 7.8%, 6.2% and 7.9% respectively for Australia.

There were no major differences between New South Wales and Australia in 2021.

Emerging groups

From 2016 to 2021, New South Wales's female population increased by 293,763 people (+7.7%). This represents an average annual change of 1.5% per year over the period.

The largest changes in the number of females attending education institutions in New South Wales, between 2016 and 2021 were in those who nominated:

  • TAFE/Vocational (+34,304 females)
  • Secondary school (+21,731 females)
  • Primary school (+20,768 females)
  • Pre-school (+16,771 females)

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