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AustraliaCommunity profile

Western Australia

Qualifications

23.8% of people in Western Australia had a Bachelor or Higher degree qualification in 2021, higher than Regional QLD. This represents an increase of 103,398 people since 2016.

Educational Qualifications relate to education outside of primary and secondary school and are one of the most important indicators of socio-economic status. With other data sources, such as Employment Status, Income and Occupation, Western Australia's Educational Qualifications help to evaluate the economic opportunities and socio-economic status of the area and identify skill gaps in the labour market.

Learn more about planning education provision here.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'What is the level of the highest qualification the person has completed?'

Highest qualification achieved
Western Australia - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)20212016Change
Qualification levelNumber%Regional QLD %Number%Regional QLD %2016 to 2021
Bachelor or Higher degree513,66723.817.1410,26920.514.0+103,398
Advanced Diploma or Diploma200,6599.39.1177,6358.98.3+23,024
Vocational455,33521.124.1407,69120.423.1+47,644
No qualification786,90136.539.2777,88538.942.4+9,016
Not stated197,6929.210.5224,25011.212.1-26,558
Total persons aged 15+2,154,254100.0100.01,997,730100.0100.0+156,524
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 qualifications of the population in Western Australia in 2021 compared to Regional QLD shows that there was a higher proportion of people holding formal qualifications (Bachelor or higher degree; Advanced Diploma or Diploma; or Vocational qualifications), and a lower proportion of people with no formal qualifications.

Overall, 54.3% of the population aged 15 and over held educational qualifications, and 36.5% had no qualifications, compared with 50.3% and 39.2% respectively for Regional QLD.

The major differences between qualifications held by the population of Western Australia and Regional QLD were:

  • A larger percentage of persons with Bachelor or Higher degrees (23.8% compared to 17.1%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with Vocational qualifications (21.1% compared to 24.1%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with No qualifications (36.5% compared to 39.2%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the qualifications of the population in Western Australia between 2016 and 2021 were in those with:

  • Bachelor or Higher degrees (+103,398 persons)
  • Vocational qualifications (+47,644 persons)
  • Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (+23,024 persons)
  • No qualifications (+9,016 persons)

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