4221.0 - Schools, Australia, 2010  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 17/03/2011   
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MEDIA RELEASE
17 March 2011
Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra Time)
35/2011

Private school student numbers continue to grow

Last year the total number of students in Australian schools increased by 26,071 with 63% of that figure consisting of private school students, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This increase in students and the distribution between private and public schools has been similar for the last 2 years.

For more than ten years now the number of students in private schools has increased by more than the number students in public schools. Since 2000 the number of students in private schools has increased by 21% compared with an only 1% increase in students attending government schools. Since 2000 the proportion of students in private schools has increased to 34%, or more than 1 in 3, up 4% over this period.

Indigenous student numbers continue to rise

Figures released today by the ABS show that the reported number of students identifying as Indigenous has increased by about 4 times more than non-Indigenous students each year since 2000. In 2010 the number of students identifying as Indigenous increased by 45% on 2000 figures.

Further information is available in Schools, Australia 2010 (cat. no. 4221.0).


Media notes:
  • Private schools include all non-government affiliated schools and includes Catholic and Independent schools.
  • Many education systems have worked to reduce the number of students with not-stated or unknown Indigenous status and this has contributed to improved reporting of Indigenous status.
  • Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.