Iran vs South Africa: Share of children who have completed primary school
Iran
96.7%
in 2025
South Africa
97.1%
in 2025
Iran rank
88th
South Africa rank
86th
Share of children who have completed primary school over time
- Iran
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 97.1% against 96.7% in Iran, a difference of 0.4%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 45 shared years of data; in 1981 it was Iran ahead.
Iran ranks 88th and South Africa ranks 86th of 165 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Iran averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 76.7% | 73.6% | 3.0% | Iran |
| 1990s | 88.1% | 83.6% | 4.6% | Iran |
| 2000s | 92.9% | 89.6% | 3.2% | Iran |
| 2010s | 94.4% | 94.0% | 0.3% | Iran |
| 2020s | 96.2% | 96.5% | 0.3% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who have completed primary school, Iran or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 97.1% against 96.7% in Iran as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of children who have completed primary school between Iran and South Africa?
- 0.4%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and South Africa?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2025.
- How do Iran and South Africa rank globally for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Iran ranks 88th and South Africa ranks 86th of 165 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.