In 2019
- there were 3,948,811 students enrolled in schools across Australia, an increase of 54,977 (1.4%) since 2018
- government schools held the greatest share of enrolments (65.7%), followed by Catholic schools (19.5%) and independent schools (14.8%)
A twenty year view of enrolment shares shows a decline in government shares until 2014. Since then, there has been an overall slight upward trend in government school enrolments, with 2019 shares close to those in 2010.
Total student enrolments have continued to increase in the five years to 2019, with a 5.3% increase. Independent schools had the largest increase with 8.1%, followed by government schools with 6.1%.
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2015-19 (% change) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government | 2,594,830 | 2,558,169 | 2,524,865 | 2,483,802 | 2,445,130 | 6.1 |
| Catholic | 769,719 | 765,735 | 766,870 | 767,050 | 765,539 | 0.5 |
| Independent | 584,262 | 569,930 | 557,490 | 547,374 | 540,304 | 8.1 |
| TOTAL | 3,948,811 | 3,893,834 | 3,849,225 | 3,798,226 | 3,750,973 | 5.3 |
The Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Queensland reported the highest annual growth rates of student enrolments in 2019 (2.0%, 1.8%, and 1.7% respectively), while the Northern Territory reported a slight decline (down 0.1%).
These patterns are consistent with changes to the total population aged 5 to 19 years living in these states and territories, with Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory experiencing the highest growth rates for this age group (2.0%, 1.7% and 1.6% respectively), and the Northern Territory experiencing the only decline (down 0.1%) (Australian Demographic Statistics, Jun 2019, cat. no. 3101.0).
In 2019, non-government school enrolment rates were
- highest in the Australian Capital Territory (38.9%) and Victoria (36.0%)
- lowest in the Northern Territory (26.3%)
- lower for students attending schools in very remote areas (13.3%) than for remote areas (21.8%), outer regional areas (25.8%), inner regional areas (33.4%) and major cities (36.4%)
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Map 1. Student enrolment counts by state and territory and school affiliation, 2019
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Map 1. Student enrolment counts by state and territory and school affiliation, 2019
Western Australia 284,978 Government student enrolments; 138,551 Non-Government enrolments.
Northern Territory 29,957 Government student enrolments; 10,711 Non-Government enrolments.
South Australia 177,246 Government student enrolments; 95,303 Non-Government enrolments.
Victoria 634,037 Government student enrolments; 356,700 Non-Government enrolments.
Tasmania 57,051 Government student enrolments; 24,652 Non-Government enrolments.
Australian Capital Territory 44,299 Government student enrolments; 28,145 Non-Government enrolments.
New South Wales 806,261 Government student enrolments; 426,106 Non-Government enrolments.
Queensland 561,001 Government student enrolments; 273,813 Non-Government enrolments.