Key findings

• The proportion of New Zealand children participating in school or ECE between ages 3 and 6 fell from 94% in 2015 to 88% in 2024, below the OECD average of 90%. The decline was mainly driven by fewer 3- and 4-year-olds attending early childhood education (ECE).
• From 2015 to 2024, enrolments in New Zealand increased across all levels of compulsory education, with the largest growth in lower secondary education (Years 7-10). Similar trends were seen across OECD countries, although New Zealand's rate of growth was higher than the OECD average.
• In 2024, more than 7 out of 10 New Zealand students (71%) completed their upper secondary schooling qualification, NCEA Level 2 or equivalent, in the usual timeframe of 2 years. This was below the OECD average of 75%.
• The share of New Zealanders aged 25-64 who attained an upper secondary qualification or a tertiary degree was around the same as the OECD average.
  • In 2025, more than 4 out of 5 New Zealanders (83%) held at least an upper secondary qualification like NCEA Level 2 or equivalent.
  • 44% of New Zealand adults held a tertiary degree, around the OECD average of 43%.
  • More young New Zealanders aged 25-34 have been attaining higher qualifications over the last decade, a trend seen across the OECD.
• On average, school teachers in New Zealand earn more than the OECD average. Statutory salaries for New Zealand school teachers start lower than the OECD average but exceed it after 10 years.
• In 2026, Education at a Glance includes a chapter on teacher shortages, which is a major policy concern across the OECD.
  • The share of New Zealand school teachers who left the profession from 2024 (for schooling) to 2025 (for ECEC) was around the OECD average.
  • New Zealand has a shortage of secondary school teachers for mathematics, natural sciences and te reo Māori (second and other languages). These were also the most common shortages among the 15 nations that reported subject shortages.
• As of 2024, the numbers of international students in tertiary education in New Zealand have continued to recover from reduced numbers in the early 2020s but remain lower than 10 years ago. Canada, Australia and the UK are some of the most popular destinations for tertiary international students within the OECD. Since 2015, these nations grew their number of international students by at least one-third.
• New Zealand spends more on education as a share of its GDP than the OECD average, but less on education per student in dollar values.

About Education at a Glance

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 systems 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.

The following factsheets are an overview of key findings related to New Zealand, for Education at a Glance 2026.