Māori school leavers staying on at school until age 17 in New Zealand
By education type, 2015–2025, % of people leaving school
| Year left school | Māori language immersion | % of people |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 78.2% |
| 2016 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 80.2% |
| 2017 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 77.3% |
| 2018 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 78.7% |
| 2019 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 81.7% |
| 2020 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 77.1% |
| 2021 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 74% |
| 2022 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 69.9% |
| 2023 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 71.8% |
| 2024 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 77.4% |
| 2025 | Predominantly learning in te reo Māori | 79.9% |
| 2015 | Predominantly learning in English | 72.8% |
| 2016 | Predominantly learning in English | 72.8% |
| 2017 | Predominantly learning in English | 72.7% |
| 2018 | Predominantly learning in English | 72.2% |
| 2019 | Predominantly learning in English | 70.9% |
| 2020 | Predominantly learning in English | 72% |
| 2021 | Predominantly learning in English | 69.1% |
| 2022 | Predominantly learning in English | 65.6% |
| 2023 | Predominantly learning in English | 64.8% |
| 2024 | Predominantly learning in English | 67% |
| 2025 | Predominantly learning in English | 70% |
Notes
Māori Medium Education is where students are taught all or some curriculum subjects in the Māori language for at least 51 percent of the time (Māori Language Immersion Levels 1-2). Smaller numbers of schools and students meaning that there is more variation in the data. Schools can change classification from year to year.
Definitions
Retention Rate: Percentage of students staying on at school to age 17.
School leavers: School leavers in 2025 are students that permanently left school to enter the workforce and/or undertake further education and training outside of the compulsory schooling system sometime between 1 March 2025 and the last day of February 2026 (inclusive). School leavers are identified using ENROL.
For more information
Inclusions
Domestic students who were aged less than 19 in their first enrolment in ENROL; including alternative education students, students 16 or over on 1 March 2024 and students attending teen parent units.
Students with leave reason; 'end of schooling' or 'early leaving exemption'
Students with leave reason 'transferred to another school in New Zealand' or 'transferred to home schooling' but did not re-enrol in another school according to ENROL
Students with leave reason 'gone overseas permanently', who meet the age criteria
Students who attend for a period of time at the start of 2025 but leave before 1 March 2025 are counted with 2024 leavers.
Exclusions
Returning adult students (aged 19 or more) with a year gap in their attendance
Exchange and International fee-paying students
Students who successfully transferred to another school in New Zealand or to home schooling
Deceased students.
Data provided by
Dataset name
School Leavers: Time Series Data School Leavers Retention 2025
Webpage:
https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/school-leavers
How to find the data
At URL provided, select 'Time series: School leavers retention to age 17 or above (2015-2025)' from 'Time Series Data' section.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: School Leavers: Time Series Data School Leavers Retention 2025
From the dataset School Leavers: Time Series Data School Leavers Retention 2025, this data was extracted:
- Sheet: 2. Māori language immersion
- Range:
C6:X8 - Provided: 66 data points
This data forms the table Education - Māori school leavers staying on at school to age 17 2015–2025.
Dataset originally released on:
July 2026