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Major Cities of Australia · Remoteness Area

Education & Qualifications in Major Cities of Australia

How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.

A gap of 5.6 percentage points separates the Major Cities of Australia from the national figure for Year 12 completion. These urban areas have seen a strong rise in attainment, with 64.4% of people finishing secondary school. Higher education is also very common here, which helps the area stand out compared to the rest of the country.

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📍 Major Cities of Australia, Remoteness Area

Where Major Cities of Australia sits — Adults with a bachelor degree or higher

31.7% ▲ +38.8%

All remoteness area areas, 2021. The marker is Major Cities of Australia — higher than 96% of areas.

Major Cities of Australia31.7%
Australia 26.3%

Schooling

Highest year of school completed.

School completion has jumped 9.9 percentage points since 2011. Now, 64.4% of people have finished Year 12, which is well above the Australian average of 58.8%.

Completed Year 12

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64.4% ▲ +18.1%

Higher than 95% of remoteness area areas.

Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.

Highest year of school

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In Major Cities of Australia, Year 12 is the majority at 69%; Year 10 is next at 18%.

Year 12 64.4% Year 10 16.5% Year 9 or below 8.7% Year 11 4.2%

Qualifications

Post-school qualifications and degrees.

University degrees are common, with 31.7% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. This figure is well above the national average and has risen 8.8 percentage points since 2011.

Adults with a bachelor degree or higher

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31.7% ▲ +38.8%

Higher than 96% of remoteness area areas.

Share of people aged 15+ whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree or above (incl. graduate and postgraduate).

Highest qualification level

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In Major Cities of Australia, the largest group is Bachelor degree at 38%, followed by Certificate III / IV (24%) and Advanced diploma / diploma (17%).

Bachelor degree 31.8% Certificate III / IV 20.0% Advanced diploma / diploma 14.7% Postgraduate degree 13.4% Graduate diploma / certificate 3.3% Certificate I / II 1.5%

Field of study

What people studied.

The most common qualifications are in management and commerce at 23.7%. Engineering and related fields follow at 12.5%, with society and culture making up 12.2% of degrees.

Sources

  • Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).

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Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Major Cities of Australia [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ra/RA10/major-cities-of-australia/topic/education