Completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa
South Africa: Completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity was 1.06 modelled data in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
1.06 modelled data
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
55th
of 164 countries
All-time high
1.07 modelled data
in 2002
All-time low
0.9758 modelled data
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025
Completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in modelled data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1.06 modelled data for completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa peaked at 1.07 modelled data in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.9758 modelled data, in 1981.
That places South Africa 55th out of 164 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa, year by year
| Year | modelled data | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 0.9758 modelled data | — |
| 1982 | 0.9819 modelled data | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 0.9873 modelled data | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 0.989 modelled data | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 0.9921 modelled data | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 0.9929 modelled data | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 0.9968 modelled data | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 1 modelled data | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 1.01 modelled data | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 1.02 modelled data | +1.0% |
| 1991 | 1.03 modelled data | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 1.04 modelled data | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 1.04 modelled data | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 1.05 modelled data | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 1.06 modelled data | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 1.06 modelled data | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 1.06 modelled data | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 1.06 modelled data | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 1.07 modelled data | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.07 modelled data | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 1.07 modelled data | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.07 modelled data | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 1.07 modelled data | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.07 modelled data | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 1.07 modelled data | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 1.07 modelled data | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 1.07 modelled data | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 1.06 modelled data | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 1.06 modelled data | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 1.06 modelled data | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.06 modelled data | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.06 modelled data | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 1.06 modelled data | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 1.06 modelled data | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 1.06 modelled data | -0.0% |
| 2025 | 1.06 modelled data | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.9918 modelled data | 0.9758 modelled data | 1.01 modelled data | 9 |
| 1990s | 1.05 modelled data | 1.02 modelled data | 1.07 modelled data | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.07 modelled data | 1.07 modelled data | 1.07 modelled data | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.07 modelled data | 1.06 modelled data | 1.07 modelled data | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.06 modelled data | 1.06 modelled data | 1.06 modelled data | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) -2.55 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 225,583 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 61,727 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 748,573 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) -1.43 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 444,590 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) -4.38 % change on previous year (2023)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa?
- Completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa was 1.06 modelled data in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.07 modelled data in 2002.
- What is the lowest completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9758 modelled data in 1981.
- How does South Africa rank for completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity?
- South Africa ranks 55th out of 164 countries with data for 2025.
- Is completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Completion rate, lower secondary education, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) (modelled data). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release