Education in financial year 2023/24 was Australia’s fourth largest export behind Iron Ore, Coal and Natural Gas, more valuable than Gold. Education remains the only top export that captures Australia as more than a quarry with a view[i].
Australia’s Top Exports 2023/24 ($ millions)
International education’s first perfect storm hit a decade ago, with a spate of education provider closures, revelations about poor-quality providers; unscrupulous practices by education agents, and student safety concerns. The value of education as an export for Australia dropped from $18.8 billion in 2009/10 to $17.2 billion in 2011/12 and $16.9 billion in 2012/13, then recovered to $18.5 billion in 2013/14 and $21.3 billion in 2014/15.
The second perfect storm was the pandemic. The value of education as an export for Australia dropped from $37.6 billion in 2018/19 to $27.6 billion in 2020 and halved to $20.8 billion in 2021/22, then jumped to $36.4 billion in 2022/23 and $51 billion in 2023/24.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics already has pointed to the third perfect storm, in its reporting on Australia’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position for the September quarter 2024: Exports of goods fell 2.3%. Exports of services also fell, down 3%, led by education-related Travel services. This was driven by a fall in the number of students arriving to start semester two[i].
Ahead of the third perfect storm, the value of education as an export for Australia was at an all-time peak $51 billion in financial year 2023/24.
Education and Tourism as Exports: 1998/99 to 2023/24 ($ millions)
Table 1
Australia’s Top Exports 2018/19 to 2023/24 ($ billions)
| 2018/9 | Rank | 2023/24 | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Ore | 77.4 | 1 | 137.9 | 1 |
| Coal | 69.6 | 2 | 91.4 | 2 |
| Natural Gas | 49.7 | 3 | 70.8 | 3 |
| Education | 37.6 | 4 | 51.0 | 4 |
| Gold | 18.9 | 6 | 32.9 | 5 |
| Tourism | 22.5 | 5 | 21.7 | 6 |
Education in 2023/24 was the fourth largest export for Australia, the second largest export for NSW, the largest export for Victoria, the third largest export for Queensland, the largest export for South Australia, the third largest export for Tasmania, and the largest export for ACT.
All export figures in this paper have been derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Services exports are from https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/international-trade/international-trade-supplementary-information-financial-year/2023-24, released in December 2024, and goods exports from customisation of https://explore.data.abs.gov.au/.
Strategy and Policy are guided by Research in Education.
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[i] Sixth straight current account deficit for Australia Media Release 3 December 2024 downloaded from https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases
[i] George Megalogenis in The Australian Moment in 2012 depicted Australia as a quarry with a view, a minerals rich continent with a physical environment attractive to international tourists
