New Zealand fourth place in OECD for bachelor’s degrees
While New Zealand ranks highly in bachelor’s degree attainment, we also rank highly for adults not completing secondary school.
According to the most recent data released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, New Zealand has the fourth highest proportion of people aged 25-64 years old with a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) as their highest attainment.
Our high bachelor’s attainment, however, is balanced against our lower rates of master’s and doctoral attainment
When it comes to master’s degree attainment, New Zealand ranks among the lowest. Five percent of New Zealand adults hold a master’s degree qualification, placing us 31st out of 35 countries. Only Korea (4.5 percent), Costa Rica (2.9 percent), Turkey (1.9 percent), and Mexico (1.8 percent) rank below us.
19 percent of New Zealanders’ highest qualification is below a NCEA Level 2 qualification
Despite our high level of bachelor’s attainment, New Zealand also has high rates of adults with less than NCEA Level 2 as their highest qualification. This means that 19 percent of New Zealand adults did not finish secondary school and never returned to successfully complete their education later in life. At 19 percent, New Zealand ties with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, while 22 OECD countries have higher rates of secondary school attainment than New Zealand.
According to the Statistics New Zealand’s Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), in 2023, 10 percent of Pākehā, 22 percent of Māori, and 25 percent of Pacific Peoples aged between 25-64 had no qualification.
According to the OECD, 30 percent of New Zealanders hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent as their highest attainment, five percent hold a master’s or equivalent, and only one percent hold a doctoral or equivalent. In comparison, the OECD average is 19 percent, 14 percent, and one percent, respectively, for these qualifications. In Australia, 29 percent hold a bachelor’s degree as their highest educational attainment, nine percent hold a master’s or equivalent, and two percent hold a doctoral or equivalent.
New Zealand’s overall tertiary educational attainment, defined as having a New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) Level 5 diploma or above as their highest attainment, is average compared to OECD countries, ranking 21 out of 36.
The OECD country with the highest tertiary attainment was Canada, with 63 percent of adults having a tertiary level qualification, and only seven percent with less than an upper secondary qualification. Our neighbours across the ditch, Australia, are number four for overall tertiary attainment at 51 percent (11 percentage points higher than New Zealand). 15 percent of Australians’ highest attainment is below upper secondary, while 34 percent hold an ‘upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary’ qualification as their highest attainment.
Statistics New Zealand’s HLFS provides highest attainment data for those aged 25-64 years by ethnicity over time. The table below shows that in 2023, 37 percent of New Zealanders held a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent), or higher. Broken down by Māori and Pacific Peoples, the proportion with a bachelor’s or above as their highest educational attainment was 21 percent and 18 percent, respectively.
Over the past 30 years the rates of New Zealanders gaining bachelor’s degrees or higher has quadrupled
Thirty years ago, only two percent of Māori and three percent of Pacific Peoples held a bachelor’s degree or higher. Today that proportion is 21 and 18 percent, respectively. The rates of those gaining a tertiary certificate or diploma have declined by 24 percent.
Percentage of New Zealanders aged 25 to 64 by highest qualification and ethnic group, 1993-2023
| 1993 | 2003 | 2013 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pākehā | No qualification | 29% | 20% | 17% | 10% |
| School qualification | 22% | 21% | 21% | 21% | |
| Tertiary certificate or diploma | 39% | 44% | 33% | 31% | |
| Bachelors degree or higher | 9% | 15% | 28% | 36% | |
| Māori | No qualification | 58% | 36% | 33% | 22% |
| School qualification | 15% | 18% | 19% | 22% | |
| Tertiary certificate or diploma | 26% | 40% | 32% | 30% | |
| Bachelors degree or higher | 2% | 6% | 15% | 21% | |
| Pacific peoples | No qualification | 58% | 30% | 35% | 25% |
| School qualification | 20% | 36% | 26% | 28% | |
| Tertiary certificate or diploma | 18% | 26% | 25% | 26% | |
| Bachelors degree or higher | 3% | 8% | 12% | 18% |
*Note: Data before 2013 for ‘no qualification’ is indicative only.
The chart below shows NEET (not in education, employment, or training) rates for 25–29-year-olds (from 26 OECD member states) one to three years after completing either vocational or tertiary training. In this regard, New Zealand is performing well in comparison and ranks 8th out of 26 for having the lowest NEET rate. Our NEET rate for those who are one to three years out of vocational training was 13.5 percent, while for tertiary training it was significantly lower at 4.9 percent. The United Kingdom sits at number six, with a vocational NEET rate of 12.6 and a tertiary NEET rate of 8.9 percent.
*Note: Vocational NEET rates are not available for the Unites States
Canada ranks 12th with a lower vocational NEET rate of 12.3 percent but a much higher tertiary NEET rate of 8.9 percent. Australia was 13th with a vocational NEET rate of 14.6 percent and a tertiary NEET rate of 7.4 percent. Vocational NEET rates are not available for the United States, however, their NEET rate for tertiary study was 9.4 percent, which would rank 17th. The OCED average for tertiary NEET rates is just above the USA at 9.9 percent. The OCED average for vocational NEET rates was 17.1 percent.