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Educational attainment of the adult population

The proportion of adults aged 25–64 years with an educational attainment of at least upper secondary school level.

This image is a visual representation of the data for this indicator. See the table below this image for the information.


Region Population 25–64 years with at least upper secondary school education (%)
1986 1991 1996 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
1 Northland 49.9 64.1 63.8 67.9 69.1 71.5 69.6 70.7 69.7 72.6 71.6
2 Auckland 59.5 71.2 75.6 81.5 80.8 84.5 77.7 79.5 77.8 75.2 74.1
3 Waikato 51.5 61.5 66.0 71.7 73.6 75.3 72.4 74.3 74.1 74.1 74.0
4 Bay of Plenty 52.9 64.0 65.9 71.1 74.4 75.4 74.3 72.2 75.2 74.4 73.5
5 Gisborne 54.9 56.2 64.7 67.3 68.5 70.0 67.6 68.5 73.3 72.4 72.7
6 Hawke's Bay
7 Taranaki 49.3 57.3 66.1 69.5 71.8 75.6 71.8 73.1 71.1 69.5 70.0
8 Manawatu-Wanganui 52.7 62.1 66.3 68.6 67.8 69.4 66.3 68.0 68.7 70.2 71.0
9 Wellington 64.6 70.8 76.3 82.2 83.2 81.7 78.9 82.8 80.3 80.3 78.7
10 Tasman 54.3 64.0 66.8 69.9 73.4 75.0 77.1 77.5 78.0 77.9 76.5
11 Nelson
12 Marlborough
13 West Coast
14 Canterbury 57.6 69.8 75.1 78.2 78.8 78.7 77.7 79.8 77.8 77.1 77.6
15 Otago 59.6 59.6 67.7 75.2 75.2 76.1 77.8 80.8 77.5 79.0 80.8
16 Southland 44.2 55.9 59.8 63.8 66.6 69.0 68.5 71.0 71.7 72.0 73.3

At least upper secondary, by age and sex, 2008 ("..s" indicates numbers below 1,000)

Region Male Female 25 - 44 45 - 64 Total 25 - 64
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Northland 25,600 69.6 28,400 73.5 27,100 75.2 26,900 68.3 54,000 71.6
Auckland 251,100 75.1 263,600 73.1 295,400 77.3 219,400 70.1 514,700 74.1
Waikato 74,800 74.8 75,600 73.2 82,600 78.7 67,800 69.0 150,400 74.0
Bay of Plenty 41,300 72.6 45,100 74.3 43,500 75.0 42,800 72.0 86,300 73.5
Gisborne 36,200 72.2 39,500 73.2 39,300 75.3 36,300 70.2 75,600 72.7
Hawke's Bay
Taranaki 21,200 70.5 21,000 69.5 22,300 73.2 20,000 66.8 42,300 70.0
Manawatu-Wanganui 38,900 70.5 42,500 71.3 41,100 72.8 40,200 69.2 81,300 71.0
Wellington 102,300 79.7 109,500 77.9 125,200 82.1 86,600 74.4 211,800 78.7
Tasman 35,200 77.9 36,800 75.3 34,200 78.0 37,800 75.3 72,000 76.5
Nelson
Marlborough
West Coast
Canterbury 128,500 78.3 132,800 77.0 144,100 81.7 117,200 73.2 261,300 77.6
Otago 35,500 81.6 37,800 80.0 38,200 86.3 35,100 75.5 73,300 80.8
Southland 19,400 73.2 18,100 73.5 21,100 79.6 16,400 66.6 37,600 73.3

At least tertiary, by age and sex, 2008 ("..s" indicates numbers below 1,000)

Region Male Female 25 - 44 45 - 64 Total 25 - 64
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Northland 3,400 9.4 5,600 14.6 5,700 15.8 3,400 8.7 9,100 12.1
Auckland 90,100 27.0 89,900 24.9 114,400 29.9 65,700 21.0 180,100 25.9
Waikato 15,800 15.8 19,400 18.8 22,300 21.3 12,900 13.1 35,200 17.3
Bay of Plenty 8,100 14.2 7,900 13.0 8,600 14.8 7,300 12.3 15,900 13.6
Gisborne 5,900 11.8 7,500 13.8 7,900 15.1 5,500 10.6 13,400 12.9
Hawke's Bay
Taranaki 3,400 11.4 4,200 13.8 4,500 14.7 3,100 10.4 7,600 12.6
Manawatu-Wanganui 7,200 13.1 10,000 16.7 8,600 15.3 8,500 14.7 17,200 15.0
Wellington 36,900 28.7 40,600 28.9 51,300 33.6 26,200 22.5 77,500 28.8
Tasman 7,000 15.5 8,200 16.8 8,300 18.9 6,900 13.7 15,200 16.1
Nelson
Marlborough
West Coast
Canterbury 33,900 20.7 34,600 20.1 45,900 26.0 22,600 14.1 68,500 20.4
Otago 10,000 23.0 12,600 26.7 13,000 29.4 9,600 20.6 22,600 24.9
Southland 2,800 10.7 3,800 15.6 3,800 14.5 2,800 11.5 6,700 13.0

At least upper secondary, by ethnicity, 2008 ("..s" indicates numbers below 1,000)

Region European Māori Pacific Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Northland 39,800 77.4 11,300 57.3 ..s ..s 2,200 72.2 54,000 71.6
Auckland 326,400 82.2 38,100 60.4 34,800 47.2 114,400 71.9 514,700 74.1
Waikato 114,600 76.1 23,800 64.9 1,900 63.9 9,900 77.6 150,400 74.0
Bay of Plenty 64,900 77.4 17,300 64.3 ..s ..s 3,100 64.3 86,300 73.5
Gisborne 56,500 78.1 16,800 63.6 1,200 41.7 1,000 44.5 75,600 72.7
Hawke's Bay
Taranaki 36,100 72.8 4,700 55.0 ..s ..s 1,400 73.6 42,300 70.0
Manawatu-Wanganui 65,600 75.4 10,600 53.9 1,300 61.3 3,800 65.0 81,300 71.0
Wellington 159,200 82.7 23,500 71.5 7,900 52.4 20,800 73.8 211,800 78.7
Tasman 63,300 77.8 5,700 72.3 ..s ..s 2,400 62.8 72,000 76.5
Nelson
Marlborough
West Coast
Canterbury 221,700 79.0 15,500 71.0 2,600 48.6 21,100 75.4 261,300 77.6
Otago 66,600 81.4 3,300 76.7 ..s ..s 2,600 74.7 73,300 80.8
Southland 32,700 74.3 3,300 64.9 ..s ..s 1,100 75.1 37,600 73.3

At least tertiary, by ethnicity, 2008 ("..s" indicates numbers below 1,000)

Region European Māori Pacific Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Northland 7,100 13.9 1,000 5.1 ..s ..s ..s ..s 9,100 12.1
Auckland 108,100 27.2 6,600 10.5 4,800 6.5 60,100 37.7 180,100 25.9
Waikato 25,300 16.8 4,400 12.0 ..s ..s 5,000 39.7 35,200 17.3
Bay of Plenty 12,200 14.6 2,200 8.2 ..s ..s 1,200 25.5 15,900 13.6
Gisborne 11,000 15.2 1,900 7.2 ..s ..s ..s ..s 13,400 12.9
Hawke's Bay
Taranaki 6,500 13.0 ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s 7,600 12.6
Manawatu-Wanganui 14,400 16.6 ..s ..s ..s ..s 1,500 26.1 17,200 15.0
Wellington 59,100 30.7 4,300 13.0 1,000 6.9 12,700 45.2 77,500 28.8
Tasman 13,800 17.0 ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s 15,200 16.1
Nelson
Marlborough
West Coast
Canterbury 54,800 19.5 2,500 11.3 ..s ..s 10,600 38.0 68,500 20.4
Otago 20,500 25.1 ..s ..s ..s ..s 1,100 31.0 22,600 24.9
Southland 5,900 13.4 ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s 6,700 13.0
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