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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 Australia. This represents an increase of 78,699 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, 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)20212016Change
Qualification levelNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
Bachelor or Higher degree335,21322.726.3256,51418.522.0+78,699
Advanced Diploma or Diploma127,6988.69.4115,1028.38.9+12,596
Vocational306,13520.719.1278,49520.118.8+27,640
No qualification603,03640.836.8605,22243.739.9-2,186
Not stated106,2947.28.5128,3249.310.5-22,030
Total persons aged 15+1,478,376100.0100.01,383,657100.0100.0+94,719
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 South Australia in 2021 compared to Australia 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 54.7% and 36.8% respectively for Australia.

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

  • A larger percentage of persons with No qualifications (40.8% compared to 36.8%)
  • A larger percentage of persons with Vocational qualifications (20.7% compared to 19.1%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with Bachelor or Higher degrees (22.7% compared to 26.3%)

Emerging groups

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

  • Bachelor or Higher degrees (+78,699 persons)
  • Vocational qualifications (+27,640 persons)
  • Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (+12,596 persons)
  • No qualifications (-2,186 persons)

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