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LEARN MORE ABOUT .id34% of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population attend an educational institution.
The share of Australia’s first nations population attending educational institutions reflects the age structure of the population, which influences the number of children attending school. Other influences include the proportion of children finishing school, leading to tertiary education, as well as the availability of tertiary education nearby.
First Nations populations are usually younger than the total population. For this reason, first nations populations often have large proportions attending primary or secondary schools. For remote areas, the availability of tertiary education and in some cases secondary education may also be a factor.
This data is often combined with Age Structure to look at the proportions of each age group attending the type of education relevant for that age group. Also look at Highest Level of Schooling completed and Highest Education Attainment.
Q:
Derived from the Census question:
'What type of educational institution is the person attending?'
| Education institution attending | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - Australia | 2021 | 2011 | Change | ||||
| Type of institution | Number | % | Tasmania % | Number | % | Tasmania % | 2011 to 2021 |
| Pre-school | 25,471 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 13,968 | 2.5 | 1.7 | +11,503 |
| Primary school | 120,868 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 81,511 | 14.9 | 15.4 | +39,357 |
| Secondary school | 83,646 | 10.3 | 10.7 | 50,962 | 9.3 | 9.8 | +32,684 |
| TAFE/Vocational | 21,273 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 13,212 | 2.4 | 4.0 | +8,061 |
| University | 21,149 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 10,126 | 1.8 | 1.7 | +11,023 |
| Other | 7,395 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 3,658 | 0.7 | 0.4 | +3,737 |
| Not attending | 494,136 | 60.8 | 62.4 | 324,291 | 59.2 | 60.6 | +169,845 |
| Not stated | 38,818 | 4.8 | 3.2 | 50,404 | 9.2 | 6.4 | -11,586 |
| Total people | 812,756 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 548,132 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +264,624 |
Dominant groups
Analysis of the share of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population attending educational institutions in Australia in 2021 compared to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Tasmania shows that there was a lower proportion attending primary school, a similar proportion attending secondary school, and a similar proportion engaged in tertiary level education.
Overall, 14.9% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population were attending primary school, 10.3% of the population were attending secondary institutions, and 5.2% were learning at a tertiary level, compared with 15.7%, 10.7% and 5.2% respectively for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Tasmania.
The major difference between the share of the population attending learning institutions of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Australia and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Tasmania was:
- A larger percentage of people attending pre-school (3.1% compared to 1.9%)
Emerging groups
From 2011 to 2021, Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population increased by 264,624 people (+48.3%). This represents an average annual change of 4.02% per year over the period.
The largest changes in the number of people attending education institutions in Australia, between 2011 and 2021 were in those who nominated:
- Primary school (+39,357 people)
- Secondary school (+32,684 people)
- Pre-school (+11,503 people)
- University (+11,023 people)
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