Brazil vs South Africa: Share of the world's population with formal basic education
Brazil
6.5%
in 2020
South Africa
5.4%
in 2020
Brazil rank
5th
South Africa rank
6th
Share of the world's population with formal basic education over time
- Brazil
- South Africa
How they compare
Brazil currently reports 6.5% against 5.4% in South Africa, a difference of 1.1%.
That makes Brazil's figure about 1.2 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was South Africa ahead.
Brazil ranks 5th and South Africa ranks 6th of 25 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Brazil averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 47.2% | 53.7% | 6.5% | South Africa |
| 1960s | 39.0% | 43.4% | 4.4% | South Africa |
| 1970s | 29.7% | 32.3% | 2.7% | South Africa |
| 1980s | 21.5% | 22.7% | 1.3% | South Africa |
| 1990s | 15.6% | 15.4% | 0.2% | Brazil |
| 2000s | 11.2% | 10.3% | 0.9% | Brazil |
| 2010s | 8.2% | 6.6% | 1.7% | Brazil |
| 2020s | 6.5% | 5.4% | 1.2% | Brazil |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of the world's population with formal basic education, Brazil or South Africa?
- Brazil, at 6.5% against 5.4% in South Africa as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of the world's population with formal basic education between Brazil and South Africa?
- 1.1%, with Brazil ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and South Africa?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Brazil and South Africa rank globally for share of the world's population with formal basic education?
- Brazil ranks 5th and South Africa ranks 6th of 25 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Bank (2024); van Zanden, J. et al.; Wittgenstein Centre (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the world's population with formal basic education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of people aged 15 or older who have not received some kind of formal primary, secondary, or tertiary education.