What is the difference in share of the population with lower secondary education between South Africa and United Arab Emirates?

1.9%, with United Arab Emirates ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and United Arab Emirates?

9 years are reported by both, from 2005 to 2024.

South Africa vs United Arab Emirates: Share of the population with lower secondary education

South Africa

85.4%

in 2024

United Arab Emirates

87.3%

in 2024

South Africa rank

54th

United Arab Emirates rank

51st

Share of the population with lower secondary education over time

South Africa
United Arab Emirates

How they compare

United Arab Emirates currently reports 87.3% against 85.4% in South Africa, a difference of 1.9%.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 9 shared years of data; in 2005 it was South Africa ahead.

South Africa ranks 54th and United Arab Emirates ranks 51st of 135 countries.

Across the 3 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 1 and United Arab Emirates in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	South Africa	United Arab Emirates	Difference	Ahead
2000s	65.4%	62.7%	2.7%	South Africa
2010s	72.7%	79.2%	6.4%	United Arab Emirates
2020s	80.9%	86.2%	5.3%	United Arab Emirates

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of the population with lower secondary education, South Africa or United Arab Emirates?: United Arab Emirates, at 87.3% against 85.4% in South Africa as of 2024.
What is the difference in share of the population with lower secondary education between South Africa and United Arab Emirates?: 1.9%, with United Arab Emirates ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and United Arab Emirates?: 9 years are reported by both, from 2005 to 2024.
How do South Africa and United Arab Emirates rank globally for share of the population with lower secondary education?: South Africa ranks 54th and United Arab Emirates ranks 51st 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.

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South Africa vs United Arab Emirates: Share of the population with lower secondary education. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-the-population-with-at-least-some-secondary-education/south-africa/united-arab-emirates/

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<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-the-population-with-at-least-some-secondary-education/south-africa/united-arab-emirates/">South Africa vs United Arab Emirates: Share of the population with lower secondary education</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Share of the population with lower secondary education
Unit: %
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 135 places, 1,912 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Share of adults aged 25 and older who have completed lower secondary education or higher.