idc-logo
svg rectangle color
AustraliaCommunity profile

Greater Capital Cities

Highest level of schooling

In Greater Capital Cities, 62.5% of people aged over 15 years had completed Year 12 schooling (or equivalent) as of 2021. This was greater than Australia.

Greater Capital Cities's school completion data is a useful indicator of socio-economic status. With other indicators, such as Proficiency in English, the data informs planners and decision-makers about people's ability to access services. Combined with Educational Qualifications it also allows assessment of the skill base of the population.

Learn more about planning education provision here.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'What is the highest year of primary or secondary school the person has completed?'

Highest level of secondary schooling completed
Greater Capital Cities - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Level of schoolingNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
Year 8 or below494,3733.73.9542,9414.44.8-48,568
Year 9 or equivalent581,6304.35.2575,1694.75.6+6,461
Year 10 or equivalent1,979,20814.617.91,966,32515.919.2+12,883
Year 11 or equivalent1,087,4198.08.71,050,6958.59.1+36,724
Year 12 or equivalent8,450,52362.556.87,130,31157.751.9+1,320,212
Did not go to school164,7191.21.0135,0441.10.9+29,675
Not stated760,6235.66.6949,9937.78.6-189,370
Total persons aged 15+13,518,495100.0100.012,350,478100.0100.0+1,168,017
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 highest level of schooling attained by the population in Greater Capital Cities in 2021 compared to Australia shows that there was a lower proportion of people who had left school at an early level (Year 10 or less) and a higher proportion of people who completed Year 12 or equivalent.

Overall, 23.8% of the population left school at Year 10 or below, and 62.5% went on to complete Year 12 or equivalent, compared with 28.0% and 56.8% respectively for Australia.

The major differences between the level of schooling attained by the population in Greater Capital Cities and Australia were:

  • A larger percentage of persons who completed year 12 or equivalent (62.5% compared to 56.8%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons who completed year 10 or equivalent (14.6% compared to 17.9%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the level of schooling attained by the population in Greater Capital Cities, between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • Year 12 or equivalent (+1,320,212 persons)
  • Year 8 or below (-48,568 persons)
  • Year 11 or equivalent (+36,724 persons)
  • Did not go to school (+29,675 persons)

DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.

Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices. Stats NZ Data and the copyright in the Stats NZ Data remains the property of the Statistics New Zealand.

The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the Stats NZ Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. Stats NZ Data can be accessed on the Statistics New Zealand website at www.stats.govt.nz. Unless otherwise specified, content that Stats NZ produce is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. For further information see https://www.stats.govt.nz/about-us/copyright/.