Educational attainment of the adult population

Relevance

The educational attainment of the adult population is an indicator of the skills available in the economy. The level of formal educational qualifications in the population is a commonly used proxy for the stock of "human capital", ie the skills available in the population and labour force.

Current level and trends

In the year ended December 2008, 75 per cent of the population aged 25–64 years (1.66 million people) had attained an educational qualification at upper secondary level or above. This was slightly lower than in 2007 (76 per cent) but a substantial increase from 66 per cent in 1991. Over the same period the proportion of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification rose from 8 per cent to 21 per cent (469,000 people).

Figure K4.1 Proportion of adults aged 25–64 years with an educational attainment of at least upper secondary level and tertiary level, 1991–2008

Source: Statistics New Zealand, Household Labour Force Survey
Note: At least secondary equals NCEA Level 1 (or its predecessor, School Certificate) or higher; tertiary equals bachelor’s degree or higher

Age and sex differences

Younger adults aged 25–34 years are much more likely to have at least upper secondary school qualifications or a bachelor’s degree or higher than adults aged 55–64 years.

Sex differences in educational attainment have narrowed over time. For younger age groups, women are more likely than men to have higher qualifications.

Table K4.1 Proportion (%) of population aged 25–64 years with higher qualifications, by age and sex, 2008

Source: Statistics New Zealand, Household Labour Force Survey, December years
Note: At least secondary equals NCEA Level 1 (or its predecessor, School Certificate) or higher; tertiary equals bachelor’s degree or higher.

Ethnic differences

Māori and Pacific adults are much less likely than adults in the European and Other ethnic groups to have higher qualifications. In the year ended December 2008, 64 per cent of Māori and 49 per cent of Pacific adults aged 25–64 years held at least upper secondary school qualifications, compared with 79 per cent of Europeans. Similarly, just 9 per cent of Māori and 7 per cent of Pacific adults held a tertiary qualification at bachelor’s degree level or above, compared with 22 per cent of Europeans. However, while the proportion of adults with a tertiary qualification at bachelor’s degree level or above doubled in the decade to 2008, it was around two and a half times higher for Māori and Pacific adults. The Other ethnic group (which includes Asians and, from 2007, the category "New Zealander") has consistently had the highest proportion of adults with a tertiary qualification, almost double that of the total adult population in 2008.

Table K4.2 Proportion (%) of population aged 25–64 years with higher qualifications, by ethnic group, selected years, 1996–2008

International comparison

Because of a revision to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 1997) used by the OECD, qualifications such as New Zealand’s NCEA Level 1 and School Certificate are no longer counted as "upper secondary education" attainments. In 2006, 69 per cent of New Zealand adults had at least upper secondary level qualifications, similar to the OECD average of 68 per cent.⁵¹ New Zealand ranked 15th highest out of 29 OECD countries. New Zealand ranked ninth equal (with Japan) out of 30 OECD countries in the proportion of adults who had bachelor’s degrees or higher, with a rate of 23 per cent (above the OECD average of 19 per cent). Countries that had higher proportions of adults with qualifications at this level included Norway (31 per cent – the highest rate), the United States (30 per cent), and Canada and Australia (each 24 per cent). New Zealand is among the 24 OECD countries in which females aged 25–34 years are more likely than males of that age to have tertiary qualifications at bachelor’s degree level or higher.

» View technical details about the educational attainment of the adult population indicator