Education

Statistics about preschool education, including enrolment, attendance, fees and service providers

• 42% of Australians aged 15-74 years had participated in learning in the last 12 months (7.8 million people).
• One in five (21%) were studying for a formal qualification.
• Just under a quarter (23%) did work-related training.
• Online learning was the most common way work-related training was delivered: rates more than doubled from 19% in 2016-17 to 55% in 2020-21.

In Australia in 2021:

• 4,030,717 students were enrolled in 9,581 schools.
• the Year 7/8 to 12 full-time apparent retention rate was 83.1%.
• the average student to teaching staff ratio for all schools was 13.3 students to one teacher.
• the annual growth rate for school enrolments was 0.6% (23,743 students), the lowest growth rate since 2008.

In May 2021, of Australians aged 15-74:

• Three in five (59%) were fully engaged in work, study or both, returning to 2019 levels after a drop to 57% in May 2020. 
• Over two-thirds (68%) had or were studying for a non-school qualification.
• The proportion studying for a non-school qualification was the same in May 2021 and May 2020 (12% in both years). 
• 78% with a non-school qualification were employed in May 2021, compared with 56% of people without one. 
• Half of all young women aged 25-34 years now hold a bachelor degree or above, compared with just over a quarter (26%) twenty years ago (May 2001).

• In 2018-19, 63% of Australians aged 15-64 had a non-school qualification.
• 24% of people had multiple qualifications.
• 83% of people with a qualification had one that was relevant to their job.
• 2.6 million people (16%) had at least one incomplete qualification.

Information on children aged 0-12 years and their families, including use of formal and informal care