Italy vs South Africa: Share of the population with lower secondary education
Italy
84.4%
in 2023
South Africa
85.4%
in 2024
Italy rank
56th
South Africa rank
54th
Share of the population with lower secondary education over time
- Italy
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 85.4% against 84.4% in Italy, a difference of 1.0%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 20 shared years of data; in 2001 it was Italy ahead.
Italy ranks 56th and South Africa ranks 54th of 135 countries.
Italy has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Italy | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 69.8% | 65.8% | 4.0% | Italy |
| 2010s | 78.3% | 73.4% | 4.9% | Italy |
| 2020s | 83.0% | 79.4% | 3.6% | Italy |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of the population with lower secondary education, Italy or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 85.4% against 84.4% in Italy as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of the population with lower secondary education between Italy and South Africa?
- 1.0%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and South Africa?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 2001 to 2023.
- How do Italy and South Africa rank globally for share of the population with lower secondary education?
- Italy ranks 56th and South Africa ranks 54th of 135 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the population with lower secondary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of adults aged 25 and older who have completed lower secondary education or higher.