Australia Education Statistics 2026: Data, Charts & Indicators
A data profile of Australia’s education system using the latest available source years from ABS, ACARA, OECD, PISA and World Bank education indicators. The 2026 label is the publication year; source years range from 2022 to 2025.
Executive Snapshot
Reported indicators use the latest available source year for each data series.
PISA 2022 Scores: Australia Compared With OECD Average
Mean score points for 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading and science.
Australia reported higher mean scores than the OECD average in all three PISA 2022 domains. PISA scores are assessment-scale points, not percentages.
Data analysis
- Australia’s largest score gap versus the OECD average was in science, at 22 score points.
- The mathematics score was 15 points above the OECD average, while reading was 22 points above the OECD average.
- The OECD country note also reports that Australia’s 2022 results were broadly similar to 2018, while longer-term performance remained lower than early-2000s cycles.
School Enrollment by Sector, 2025
Share of Australian school students by affiliation.
Government schools enrolled the majority of students in 2025. Independent schools had the largest enrollment growth rate over 2021-2025.
Data analysis
- Government schools enrolled 2,613,404 students in 2025, equal to 62.8% of all school students.
- Independent school enrollment rose 15.3% between 2021 and 2025, compared with 5.7% for Catholic schools and -0.4% for government schools.
- The sector share series should be read as enrollment distribution, not as a quality ranking.
Main Education Indicator Table
Each row keeps the indicator definition, unit and source year separate.
| Rank | Indicator | Value | Unit | Year | Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | School students enrolled | 4,160,918 | students | 2025 | ABS Schools | All Australian schools |
| 2 | Schools | 9,673 | schools | 2025 | ABS Schools | Government, Catholic and independent schools |
| 3 | Teaching staff | 325,190 | FTE teachers | 2025 | ABS Schools | Primary and secondary teaching staff combined |
| 4 | Student to teaching staff ratio | 12.8 | students per teacher | 2025 | ABS Schools | FTE student to FTE teaching staff ratio; not class size |
| 5 | Primary student-teacher ratio | 13.9 | students per teacher | 2025 | ABS Schools | FTE ratio for primary schools |
| 6 | Secondary student-teacher ratio | 11.7 | students per teacher | 2025 | ABS Schools | FTE ratio for secondary schools |
| 7 | Year 7/8 to 12 retention | 81.3% | percent | 2025 | ABS Schools | Full-time apparent retention rate |
| 8 | Government school enrollment share | 62.8% | percent of students | 2025 | ABS Schools | Largest school affiliation group |
| 9 | Catholic school enrollment share | 20.0% | percent of students | 2025 | ABS Schools | School affiliation category |
| 10 | Independent school enrollment share | 17.2% | percent of students | 2025 | ABS Schools | School affiliation category |
| 11 | PISA mathematics score | 487 | score points | 2022 | OECD PISA | 15-year-old students |
| 12 | PISA reading score | 498 | score points | 2022 | OECD PISA | 15-year-old students |
| 13 | PISA science score | 507 | score points | 2022 | OECD PISA | 15-year-old students |
| 14 | PISA sample | 13,437 | students | 2022 | OECD PISA | Students in 743 schools, representing about 265,200 15-year-olds |
| 15 | Tertiary gross enrollment ratio | 105% | gross enrollment ratio | 2023 | World Bank / UIS | Gross ratio may exceed 100 because it includes students outside the standard age group |
| 16 | Bachelor’s attainment, age 25-34 | 36.5% | percent | 2024 | OECD Education GPS | Bachelor’s or equivalent tertiary education degree |
| 17 | Master’s or equivalent attainment, age 25-34 | 11% | percent | 2024 | OECD Education at a Glance | Below OECD average of 16% |
| 18 | Without upper secondary attainment, age 25-34 | 8% | percent | 2024 | OECD Education at a Glance | Down from 9% in 2019 |
| 19 | Government education expenditure | 5.1% | percent of GDP | 2022 | World Bank / UIS | General government expenditure on education, rounded from 5.0592% |
| 20 | Government expenditure per tertiary student | USD 9,415 | USD equivalent | 2025 | OECD Education at a Glance | OECD reported value for tertiary level, including R&D definition in source tables |
Data analysis
- Australia’s latest school system data are more recent than international outcome and spending indicators, so each indicator keeps its own source year.
- School-sector and staffing indicators come from national administrative collections, while PISA and attainment figures use OECD international definitions.
- Gross tertiary enrollment is not the same as the number of university students; it is an age-group ratio and can exceed 100%.
Historical Trend Table
Selected national series with consistent ABS definitions from 2015 to 2025.
Student-Teacher Ratio Trend, 2015-2025
FTE student to FTE teaching staff ratio by school affiliation.
The all-school ratio moved from 13.9 in 2015 to 12.8 in 2025. This measure is not a classroom size measure.
| Series | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 | Change | Unit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7/8 to 12 retention, persons | 84.0 | 83.6 | 81.3 | -2.7 | percentage points | ABS Schools, Table 64a |
| Student-teacher ratio, all schools | 13.9 | 13.5 | 12.8 | -1.1 | ratio points | ABS Schools, Table 53a |
| Government enrollment share | 65.2 | 65.6 | 62.8 | -2.4 | percentage points | ABS Schools, Table 42b |
| Catholic enrollment share | 20.4 | 19.4 | 20.0 | -0.4 | percentage points | ABS Schools, Table 42b |
| Independent enrollment share | 14.4 | 15.0 | 17.2 | +2.8 | percentage points | ABS Schools, Table 42b |
Trend analysis
- The all-school student-teacher ratio declined by 1.1 ratio points between 2015 and 2025.
- The national Year 7/8 to 12 full-time retention rate was lower in 2025 than in 2015, despite a recovery from the 2023 low in the visible series.
- The independent school enrollment share rose 2.8 percentage points over the decade, while the government share fell 2.4 percentage points.
School Enrollment by Sector, 2021-2025
Student counts by school affiliation from the ABS Schools 2025 release.
| Sector | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2021-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government | 2,622,755 | 2,605,826 | 2,614,094 | 2,619,513 | 2,613,404 | -0.4% |
| Catholic | 787,181 | 795,368 | 806,323 | 820,222 | 831,692 | +5.7% |
| Independent | 620,781 | 641,318 | 666,581 | 692,271 | 715,822 | +15.3% |
| Total | 4,030,717 | 4,042,512 | 4,086,998 | 4,132,006 | 4,160,918 | +3.2% |
State and Territory Enrollment, 2025
Government and non-government student counts by state and territory.
Enrollment Counts by State and Sector
Government and non-government student enrollments in 2025.
New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland account for the largest school enrollment counts in the 2025 ABS state and territory table.
| State | Government | Non-govt. | Total | Govt. share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 773,956 | 483,774 | 1,257,730 | 61.5% |
| Victoria | 667,440 | 397,098 | 1,064,538 | 62.7% |
| Queensland | 564,846 | 324,789 | 889,635 | 63.5% |
| Western Australia | 306,262 | 160,023 | 466,285 | 65.7% |
| South Australia | 173,438 | 111,121 | 284,559 | 61.0% |
| Tasmania | 52,489 | 27,791 | 80,280 | 65.4% |
| Australian Capital Territory | 46,231 | 31,655 | 77,886 | 59.4% |
| Northern Territory | 28,742 | 11,263 | 40,005 | 71.8% |
Regional analysis
- The state and territory totals reconcile to the national 2025 enrollment total of 4,160,918 students.
- The Northern Territory had the highest government enrollment share among listed jurisdictions, while the Australian Capital Territory had the lowest.
- State totals reflect school enrollment counts, not student achievement or school funding levels.
Indicator Notes
Short interpretation notes for the main data blocks.
School scale
Australia reported 4.16 million school students and 9,673 schools in 2025. The national student count rose 0.7% from 2024.
Staffing ratio
The national FTE student-teacher ratio was 12.8 in 2025. ABS cautions that this ratio should not be read as class size.
Attainment
OECD data show 36.5% of 25-34 year-olds held a bachelor’s or equivalent degree in 2024, while 8% lacked upper secondary attainment.
Assessment
PISA 2022 places Australia above the OECD mean in mathematics, reading and science, using internationally scaled score points.
Source and Methodology
Student counts, school counts, retention rates, FTE teaching staff and student-teacher ratios use the Australian Bureau of Statistics Schools, 2025 release.
School and staff totals are cross-checked against ACARA’s national reporting pages for school numbers and staff numbers.
PISA mathematics, reading and science scores use the OECD PISA 2022 Australia country note and OECD Education GPS PISA profile.
Educational attainment indicators use OECD Education at a Glance 2025: Australia and the OECD Australia education system profile.
Tertiary gross enrollment and public education spending use World Bank / UNESCO UIS indicator pages for SE.TER.ENRR and SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS.
Percentages are shown to one decimal place when the source provides decimal values. Whole-person counts are shown as reported.
The profile does not calculate a composite education score. Indicators use their own official definitions, source years and units. “Latest” means latest available in the cited source at publication time, not 2026 data for every metric.
Student-teacher ratio is not class size. PISA scores are international assessment-scale points, not curriculum grades. Gross enrollment ratios can exceed 100% because they include students outside the official age group. Spending, enrollment, attainment and achievement indicators should not be merged into a single ranking without a stated statistical method.