Education at a Glance is an annual Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publication. It compares the education systems of OECD member countries and a number of participating partner countries to build a picture of education around the world. The report provides one of the most extensive ranges of comparative education system indicators available. Its purpose is to provide high-level markers of how well different education systems across OECD countries are performing to potentially help inform further policy development aimed at improving education.

Participation in education in New Zealand

• Participation in early childhood education (ECE) is above the OECD average for under threes, around the OECD average for three-year-olds and below the average for four-year-olds. This year’s edition reflects a drop in ECE participation that occurred in 2022, seeing New Zealand’s relative position shift from above average to average for three-year-olds and below average for four-year-olds. This decline in participation was almost fully recovered in 2023.
• Participation for five-year-olds in schooling or ECE is about the OECD average. New Zealand is one of only a handful of countries where most five-year-olds have started primary education.
• Participation is also around the OECD average at schooling ages six to 14. The age range at which at least 90 percent of the New Zealand population is in education is five to 17, similar to the average across OECD countries.
• Participation remains lower than the OECD average at upper secondary ages 15 to 19. Employment rates for New Zealanders in this age group are amongst the highest in the OECD. However, the proportion not in employment or education remains around the OECD average.
• Participation at traditional tertiary ages (18 to 24) is also around the OECD average, but participation at older ages is relatively high, over twice the OECD average for adults aged 25 and over.
• Women form a majority of tertiary students in nearly all OECD countries. In New Zealand, tertiary students are slightly more likely to be female than the average across OECD countries.
• The share of students studying in different fields is also similar to the OECD average. For science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, New Zealand has higher shares of students doing sciences but lower shares doing engineering. The share of female students in STEM and agriculture fields is amongst the highest in the OECD.

Educational achievement and transitions to further study and employment

• Educational attainment in the New Zealand population (aged 25 to 64) is around the OECD average. Around 17 percent of 25 to 64-year-olds have less than the equivalent of NCEA Level 2 (compared to an OECD average of 19 percent). Forty-one percent have at least NCEA Level 2 or equivalent but less than a tertiary diploma (compared to an OECD average of 40 percent). Forty-two percent have a tertiary diploma or higher (compared to 41 percent on average across the OECD).
• The existence of a one-year upper secondary qualification (NCEA Level 1) is relatively uncommon in the OECD (it exists in around half a dozen countries). Under international definitions, those with this as their highest attainment are counted in the 17 percent with below upper secondary attainment. In 2023, around nine percent of school leavers in New Zealand left with NCEA Level 1.
• New Zealanders complete upper secondary education at about the same rate as the OECD average. However, compared with other OECD countries, New Zealanders are more are likely to have transitioned to, and completed upper secondary-level (i.e. Level 1-3) vocational qualifications in post-school settings. This is more typical in anglophone countries but is less common across OECD countries where vocational education tracks and programmes are part of initial school education. Overall, the share of New Zealanders completing a Level 1 to 3 vocational qualification is less than the OECD average.
• In contrast, New Zealand has one of the highest shares of adults participating in and completing Level 4 qualifications. And overall, the share of adults with a school or tertiary qualification at New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) Level 2 to 4 is around the OECD average.
• Those with tertiary qualifications are noticeably more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree and less likely to hold a master’s degree than what is typical in other OECD countries, but the overall share of adults with a bachelor’s or higher-level qualification is the same as the OECD average. The share of our population with doctorates is also about the average.
• New Zealand has one of the highest shares of foreign-born population in the OECD. Thirty-seven percent of 25 to 64-year-olds were born overseas, the second highest share amongst OECD countries along with Switzerland and behind Luxembourg, and more than twice the OECD average. Foreign-born New Zealanders are, on average, more educated than New Zealand-born New Zealanders, and on average, more educated than foreign-born in other OECD countries.
• Fifty-one percent of foreign-born New Zealanders aged 25 to 64 have a tertiary diploma or higher qualification compared with 36 percent of New Zealand-born adults. This difference is one of the largest amongst OECD countries. Over 90 percent of foreign-born New Zealanders have the equivalent of NCEA Level 2 or higher qualifications, compared with 78 percent of New Zealand-born.

Teachers, the learning environment, and the organisation of schools

• Average actual salaries for New Zealand primary and secondary teachers were higher than the OECD average (seven percent for primary and four percent for secondary). Teacher salary comparisons in this year’s edition relate to 2023, so for New Zealand do not yet fully reflect the latest negotiated increases that became effective in 2024. Average actual salaries for teachers relative to the earnings of full-time full-year workers with a tertiary diploma or higher were also higher than the OECD average (85 percent compared with 81 percent for primary teachers and 91 percent compared with 88 percent for secondary teachers).
• Between 2015 and 2023, average actual salaries for New Zealand grew in real terms by 5 percent for primary teachers, and by 4 percent for secondary teachers. These were in the middle of the 20 or so countries who reported this, and similar to the increases in Australia.
• Education at a Glance also compares what it refers to as ‘statutory’ salaries. In New Zealand these refer to the base salaries as set by collective agreements. In statutory salary terms, starting salaries in New Zealand have traditionally been around the OECD average, with a shorter period to reach the top of the scale than is the case in most OECD countries. Salaries at the top of the scale are lower than the OECD average. Statutory figures do not capture the full range of actual earnings teachers receive, for example from extra teaching or management units and allowances.
• Between 2015 and 2023, statutory salaries for New Zealand primary teachers grew in real terms by 14 percent, compared with an OECD average growth of seven percent. For secondary teachers, the growth in New Zealand in real terms was six percent, the same as the OECD average.
• The number of teaching hours New Zealand primary teachers are required to work is higher than the OECD average (940 per year compared to 773 per year for the OECD average). The total working time required at school is also higher. Similarly for secondary teachers, the teaching time and the total working time required in schools is higher than the OECD average. New Zealand has higher working time requirements than Australia at primary level but about the same at secondary level. Complete comparisons of total teacher working time including teaching and non-teaching duties are not available, so care is needed in interpreting working time comparisons for New Zealand teachers.
• At 39.4 weeks, the number of weeks primary schools are open in New Zealand is about a week longer than the average across OECD countries. The number of weeks ranges from 35 to 44 across OECD countries.
• From 24 OECD reporting countries, 40 percent of primary teachers and 68 percent of upper secondary teachers held a master’s degree or higher. In New Zealand, a master’s degree is noticeably less common, with just five percent of primary teachers and 15 percent of upper secondary teachers holding a master’s or higher. The proportion of teachers with less than a bachelor’s degree is also a little higher than the OECD average (seven percent compared with four percent for primary, three percent compared with two percent for secondary).
• Student-to-teacher ratios (which are expressed in full-time-equivalent rather than headcount terms) are largely similar to the OECD average for primary, secondary and most levels of tertiary education. The figures for ECE show New Zealand having amongst the best ratios in the OECD. This, in part reflects regulated teacher-child ratios in New Zealand but is also likely to reflect definitional differences in the way teachers and other contact staff in ECE are reported across countries.
• New data on teacher shortages reported for 14 OECD countries shows that, on average, 6.7 percent of school teachers left the profession in the 2022/23 academic year, either through resignation or retirement. For New Zealand the figure was 8.5 percent, which related to 2021. The 2022 figure, which wasn’t available in time for inclusion in this year’s Education at a Glance, was 7.5 percent. All but three of 21 reporting countries reported a shortage of teachers in at least one subject. A majority of those reporting had shortages in most or all subjects.
• Half of New Zealand public schools providing primary-level education had 23 students or fewer per primary-year-level, or grade, and half had more. Of the 24 OECD countries able to report this data, the average figure was 27 students. Education at a Glance does not include comparisons of total school size, but the median total size of New Zealand schools providing primary-level education in 2023 was 174 students.
• Compared to the average across OECD countries, New Zealand has both a slightly higher share of secondary teachers aged over 50 (42 percent compared with 39 percent) and a slightly higher share aged under 30 (11 percent compared with eight percent). The share of school teachers who are male (15 percent for primary and 38 percent for upper secondary) is similar to the OECD average. At tertiary levels, New Zealand has a comparatively high share of female teaching staff; 54 percent compared with 46 percent for the OECD average. New Zealand was one of just six countries where female teaching staff outnumbered males in tertiary education.
• This year’s edition includes a chapter on parent and student voice in schools. Arrangements across OECD countries, including New Zealand, are reasonably similar. New Zealand’s requirements relating to parent and student representation on school boards are similar to those in many OECD countries. The existence of both parent associations as well as student boards or student councils is near universal across OECD countries. These bodies perform a similar role as they do in New Zealand, except that in a handful of countries, government also has a formal obligation to consult on major policy decisions. While parent associations are near universal across the OECD, parent-teacher associations exist in only a handful of countries (which includes New Zealand). Student Unions exist in just over half of OECD countries, mainly at secondary level. All OECD countries have formal processes for parents to file complaints, and a majority of them (including New Zealand) have a designated ombudsman or agency for receiving complaints. Most operate with an optional student participation.

Vocational Education and Training (VET)

• New Zealand is in a minority group (of mainly anglophone countries) that have a predominantly generally oriented initial schooling system, with relatively little vocational tracking, and where VET (including that which is at a level equivalent to upper secondary) is done after leaving school. Differences in how systems operate across countries, including how different countries may position VET skill levels, is a factor for interpreting cross-country comparisons for VET.
• VET students in such countries, including New Zealand, are noticeably older. In New Zealand, while the most common age of VET students is under 20, the average age is over 30, the highest in the OECD, along with Australia and Ireland.
• Compared to New Zealand, countries with vocational programmes within initial schooling tend to have higher levels of VET participation and attainment at Levels 1 to 3, but less at Level 4. While transition to Level 1 to 3 VET programmes post-school is common in New Zealand, the share of the population with this level and type of attainment is less than the OECD average. By contrast, New Zealand has the highest percentage of the population enrolled in VET programmes at Level 4 in the OECD, and the second highest share of the population qualified at this level. When VET across all levels from upper secondary to diploma level is combined, New Zealand’s VET share is similar to the OECD average.
• VET graduates across the OECD have higher employment than non-VET graduates on average, and this is true also for New Zealand. However, average earnings are about the same for VET and non-VET, both in New Zealand and for the OECD average.

Financial resources invested in education

• Expenditure data in Education at a Glance relates to 2021 so reflects impacts of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both 2020 and 2021 saw some shifts in relative investment, as public expenditure increased in some countries and decreased in others. Similarly, while private expenditure increased in some countries, particularly in post compulsory ages as labour market restrictions saw more participation in education, it also decreased significantly in those countries most impacted by the reduction of international students.
• In terms of average expenditure per student, New Zealand remains below the OECD average at primary level, and about average for general upper secondary education.
• Expenditure per student at upper secondary vocational education (Levels 1-3) is lower than the average across OECD countries. By contrast, in most countries where upper secondary-level vocational education is done as part of the initial schooling system, expenditure per student is higher, in part due to the typically higher teacher-to-student ratios in schools. Level 4, where it exists in OECD countries, is mostly done in post-school settings, and New Zealand expenditure per student at this level is well above the OECD average.
• At tertiary levels, public expenditure per student is below the OECD average in comparisons where publicly-funded student loans and allowances are counted as private, but in comparisons where these are counted as public, New Zealand sits at or above the OECD average.
• Public expenditure per student increased in New Zealand in nominal terms in 2021, and these increases were similar to the OECD average increase. However, in real terms, this was offset by higher levels of inflation, and further offset by reductions in private expenditure as a result of fewer international students due to the continued closure of the border. As a result, New Zealand’s relative position in terms of total public and private tertiary expenditure per student shifted a little more into the bottom half of countries in 2021.
• The share of total government expenditure that is allocated to education remains higher than the OECD average. In previous years New Zealand has ranked near the top in this measure, but in 2020 and 2021 the share declined, and our relative position has shifted towards the average. This is due to total government expenditure increasing more than expenditure on education during this period. While the share has declined, the actual increase in government education expenditure in real terms since 2015 was above the OECD average.
• The government share of education expenditure is 95 percent for primary education, and around 90 percent at secondary level, both above the OECD average public share. For tertiary education it sits around 60 percent, which is less than the OECD average share. Increases in public expenditure and reductions in private expenditure (including that from international students) have seen the public share of education expenditure increase in 2020 and 2021, in particular at post-schooling levels.
• As a share of gross domestic product, total education expenditure at primary to tertiary levels for New Zealand sits a little above the OECD average, at 5.3 percent. It is around the average at primary level, above average for secondary, and above for tertiary education at Level 4 and above. This indicator is often used as a proxy for a country’s ‘ability to pay’. Traditionally New Zealand has performed very well on this indicator. The change in our relative position during the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 pandemic years relates less to education expenditure and more to relative changes in GDP across OECD countries.
• This year’s report includes updated data on tertiary tuition fees and financial support. We are in a group of mainly anglophone countries with policy settings that support a higher private share of tertiary costs with larger public financial support systems. Average tuition fees for domestic students are in the top quarter of OECD countries, but they are less than those charged in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia.
• The share of students receiving public financial support (loans or allowances) is in the top five, and alongside Australia a large component of this relates to student loans. Nearly three-quarters of tertiary domestic students receive some form of publicly supported student loan or grant (compared with 80 percent for Australia and the United States).
• Expenditure on early childhood education is typically reported separately in Education at a Glance as it is less complete due to data comparability and availability across a number of OECD countries. New Zealand reports data on public expenditure on ECE but does not report data on private expenditure on ECE. While public ECE investment comparisons are not included in this year’s edition, in previous years New Zealand’s investment per child in ECE has been shown to be high. When New Zealand’s public-only expenditure per child is compared alongside total public and private expenditure per child in other countries, New Zealand sits around the OECD average.

International education

• This year’s report shows that the international student market in New Zealand in 2022 had not recovered from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as much as it had in other countries. In 2019, New Zealand had the third highest share of international students amongst its tertiary student population. In 2022, New Zealand was 15th. On this measure, Australia ranked second, the United Kingdom third, and Canada sixth. However, the data relates to 2022 so doesn’t reflect very strong growth in international student numbers (around 20 percent) that occurred in New Zealand in 2023 and again in 2024.
• In absolute numbers, New Zealand’s share of international students remains small, at under one percent of all international students globally. OECD countries as a group attract two-thirds of all international students, with the biggest destinations being the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Canada.
• Education at a Glance provides unique information on where New Zealanders travel overseas for tertiary study. Typically, nearly a half travel to Australia to study, a quarter to the United States, around 12 percent to the United Kingdom with Canada, Germany and France also common destinations.

Post-education outcomes

• New Zealand typically performs above the OECD average on a range of labour market and social outcome measures, but the differences in these outcomes between the least and most educated are typically smaller. We are similar to Nordic countries in this regard. This smaller difference between least and most educated, in particular on earnings, is sometimes interpreted as education having lower benefits in New Zealand, but it may also reflect social, cultural or economic settings that act to reduce inequity.
• New Zealand has comparatively high employment rates regardless of level of educational attainment; in fact, New Zealand was in the top 10 OECD countries in 2023. The strong labour market post COVID-19 had kept unemployment low and acted to reduce participation in upper secondary and tertiary education. Our relatively higher employment rates amongst low-qualified people means the employment advantage in New Zealand for having a tertiary education is smaller than it is in other OECD countries.
• Similarly, the earnings advantage that a person with a tertiary education has in New Zealand is lower than the advantage that tertiary-educated people have on average across the OECD. On this measure New Zealand has traditionally ranked in the bottom quarter of countries. While relative earnings for education are less than the OECD average, actual earnings are at or above the OECD average.
• Employment and earnings differences between men and women reduce with higher levels of education. In New Zealand, this gender gap for tertiary-qualified people is smaller than the OECD average. On average across the OECD, tertiary-educated women workers earn 83% of what their male counterparts earn. In New Zealand this difference is 90 percent. The gap has been reducing across OECD countries over time, and the reduction in New Zealand has largely mirrored the OECD average.
• Since its 2011 edition, Education at a Glance has shown a positive association between education and many aspects of social well-being, including health, social connection, civic and community engagement, safety and subjective well-being. This year’s edition focuses on climate change and the environment. It shows that people with higher levels of education are more likely to consider climate change and environmental issues important, and more likely to accept the impact of human activity on the climate. They are also more likely to be motivated to take actions to reduce the negative impacts of climate change.