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AustraliaCommunity profile

Greater Sydney

Qualifications

33.4% of people in Greater Sydney had a Bachelor or Higher degree qualification in 2021, higher than Victoria. This represents an increase of 760,483 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, Greater Sydney'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
Greater Sydney - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)20212006Change
Qualification levelNumber%Victoria %Number%Victoria %2006 to 2021
Bachelor or Higher degree1,423,35833.429.2662,87520.017.2+760,483
Advanced Diploma or Diploma412,7409.79.8267,2428.17.3+145,498
Vocational629,52414.816.7493,66514.915.3+135,859
No qualification1,459,90234.236.51,416,49342.747.5+43,409
Not stated342,4198.07.9473,31414.312.7-130,895
Total persons aged 15+4,267,943100.0100.03,313,589100.0100.0+954,354
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 Greater Sydney in 2021 compared to Victoria 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, 57.8% of the population aged 15 and over held educational qualifications, and 34.2% had no qualifications, compared with 55.6% and 36.5% respectively for Victoria.

The major differences between qualifications held by the population of Greater Sydney and Victoria were:

  • A larger percentage of persons with Bachelor or Higher degrees (33.4% compared to 29.2%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with No qualifications (34.2% compared to 36.5%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with Vocational qualifications (14.8% compared to 16.7%)

Emerging groups

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

  • Bachelor or Higher degrees (+760,483 persons)
  • Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (+145,498 persons)
  • Vocational qualifications (+135,859 persons)
  • No qualifications (+43,409 persons)

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