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AustraliaCommunity profile

Greater Capital Cities

Education institution attending

In 2021, 913,875 people in Greater Capital Cities were attending university. This represents 5.5% of the population, compared to 4.7% in Australia.

The share of Greater Capital Cities'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
Greater Capital Cities - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Type of institutionNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
Pre-school326,5532.01.9229,1531.51.5+97,400
Primary school1,365,5788.28.21,245,1778.28.2+120,401
Primary - Government938,0985.75.6841,7665.55.6+96,332
Primary - Catholic252,1461.51.6245,1111.61.6+7,035
Primary - Independent175,3341.11.0158,3001.01.0+17,034
Secondary school1,077,1236.56.4942,3296.26.2+134,794
Secondary - Government597,8703.63.7513,4473.43.5+84,423
Secondary - Catholic248,7301.51.5226,8821.51.4+21,848
Secondary - Independent230,5231.41.3202,0001.31.2+28,523
TAFE/Vocational409,0712.52.4284,4941.91.8+124,577
University913,8755.54.7905,0556.05.0+8,820
Other179,8261.11.0148,6281.00.8+31,198
Not attending11,478,37569.369.810,428,22368.769.2+1,050,152
Not stated815,6934.95.8995,6856.67.3-179,992
Total16,566,094100.0100.015,178,744100.0100.0+1,387,350
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 population attending educational institutions in Greater Capital Cities in 2021 compared to Australia shows that there was a similar proportion attending primary school, a similar proportion attending secondary school, and a higher proportion engaged in tertiary level education.

Overall, 8.2% of the population were attending primary school, 6.5% of the population were attending secondary institutions, and 8.0% were learning at a tertiary level, compared with 8.2%, 6.4% and 7.0% respectively for Australia.

There were no major differences between Greater Capital Cities and Australia in 2021.

Emerging groups

From 2016 to 2021, Greater Capital Cities's population increased by 1,387,350 people (+9.1%). This represents an average annual change of 1.76% per year over the period.

The largest changes in the number of persons attending education institutions in Greater Capital Cities, between 2016 and 2021 were in those who nominated:

  • Secondary school (+134,794 persons)
  • TAFE/Vocational (+124,577 persons)
  • Primary school (+120,401 persons)
  • Pre-school (+97,400 persons)

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