Powered by .id (informed decisions) for Cairns Regional Council
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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn 2021, 5,647 people in Cairns were attending university. This represents 3.4% of the population, compared to 3.2% in Regional QLD.
The share of Cairns's population attending educational institutions reflects the age structure of the population, as it is influenced by the number of children attending school; proximity to tertiary education, which can mean young adults leaving home to be nearer to educational facilities and; the degree to which people are seeking out educational opportunities in adulthood, especially in their late teens and early twenties.
This data is often combined with Age Structure to identify areas with significant university student populations.
Q:
Derived from the Census question:
'What type of educational institution is the person attending?'
Dominant groups
Analysis of the share of the population attending educational institutions in Cairns in 2021 compared to Regional QLD shows that there was a similar proportion attending primary school, a similar proportion attending secondary school, and a higher proportion engaged in tertiary level education.
Overall, 8.2% of the population were attending primary school, 7.2% of the population were attending secondary institutions, and 5.8% were learning at a tertiary level, compared with 8.0%, 6.7% and 5.2% respectively for Regional QLD.
The major differences between the share of the population attending learning institutions in Cairns and Regional QLD were:
- A larger percentage of persons attending a Catholic primary school (2.7% compared to 1.6%)
- A smaller percentage of persons not attending (67.5% compared to 70.1%)
Emerging groups
From 2001 to 2021, Cairns's population increased by 54,941 people (+49.1%). This represents an average annual change of 2.02% per year over the period.
The largest changes in the number of persons attending education institutions in Cairns, between 2001 and 2021 were in those who nominated:
- Secondary school (+5,281 persons)
- Secondary - Government (+3,162 persons)
- University (+2,503 persons)
- Primary school (+2,463 persons)
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