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AustraliaCommunity profile

South Australia

Qualifications

22.7% of people in South Australia had a Bachelor or Higher degree qualification in 2021, lower than Victoria. This represents an increase of 175,234 people since 2006.

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, South 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
South Australia - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)20212006Change
Qualification levelNumber%Victoria %Number%Victoria %2006 to 2021
Bachelor or Higher degree335,21322.729.2159,97913.017.2+175,234
Advanced Diploma or Diploma127,6988.69.879,6936.57.3+48,005
Vocational306,13520.716.7212,57917.215.3+93,556
No qualification603,03640.836.5638,12651.747.5-35,090
Not stated106,2947.27.9143,12711.612.7-36,833
Total persons aged 15+1,478,376100.0100.01,233,504100.0100.0+244,872
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2006 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 South Australia in 2021 compared to Victoria shows that there was a lower proportion of people holding formal qualifications (Bachelor or higher degree; Advanced Diploma or Diploma; or Vocational qualifications), and a higher proportion of people with no formal qualifications.

Overall, 52.0% of the population aged 15 and over held educational qualifications, and 40.8% had no qualifications, compared with 55.6% and 36.5% respectively for Victoria.

The major differences between qualifications held by the population of South Australia and Victoria were:

  • A larger percentage of persons with No qualifications (40.8% compared to 36.5%)
  • A larger percentage of persons with Vocational qualifications (20.7% compared to 16.7%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with Bachelor or Higher degrees (22.7% compared to 29.2%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (8.6% compared to 9.8%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the qualifications of the population in South Australia between 2006 and 2021 were in those with:

  • Bachelor or Higher degrees (+175,234 persons)
  • Vocational qualifications (+93,556 persons)
  • Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (+48,005 persons)
  • No qualifications (-35,090 persons)

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