About New Zeland

Primary and secondary schooling is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16, with the majority attending from the age of 5.[271] There are 13 school years and attending state (public) schools is free to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents from a person's 5th birthday to the end of the calendar year following their 19th birthday.[272] New Zealand has an adult literacy rate of 99%,[136] and over half of the population aged 15 to 29 hold a tertiary qualification.[271] There are five types of government-owned tertiary institutions: universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, specialist colleges, and w?nanga,[273] in addition to private training establishments.[274] In the adult population 14.2% have a bachelor's degree or higher, 30.4% have some form of secondary qualification as their highest qualification and 22.4% have no formal qualification.[275] The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment ranks New Zealand's education system as the seventh best in the world, with students performing exceptionally well in reading, mathematics and science.[276]