Completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data) in South Africa
South Africa: Completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data) was 87.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
87.6%
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
81st
of 164 countries
All-time high
87.6%
in 2025
All-time low
54.9%
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025
Completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data) in South Africa, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 87.6% for completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data) in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data) in South Africa peaked at 87.6% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 54.9%, in 1981.
That places South Africa 81st 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, male (modelled data) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 54.9% | — |
| 1982 | 55.7% | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 56.8% | +2.0% |
| 1984 | 58.2% | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 59.5% | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 60.9% | +2.3% |
| 1987 | 62.1% | +2.0% |
| 1988 | 63.2% | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 64.5% | +2.0% |
| 1990 | 65.9% | +2.2% |
| 1991 | 67.2% | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 68.3% | +1.7% |
| 1993 | 69.5% | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 70.7% | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 71.7% | +1.4% |
| 1996 | 72.6% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 73.2% | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 74.2% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 74.9% | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 75.4% | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 75.7% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 76.0% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 76.5% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 77.1% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 78.0% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 78.9% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 79.8% | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 80.5% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 80.9% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 81.2% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 81.1% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 81.1% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 81.3% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 81.9% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 82.6% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 83.2% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 83.7% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 84.2% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 84.7% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 85.2% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 85.8% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 86.3% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 86.7% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 87.2% | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 87.6% | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 59.5% | 54.9% | 64.5% | 9 |
| 1990s | 70.8% | 65.9% | 74.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.9% | 75.4% | 80.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 82.5% | 81.1% | 84.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.5% | 85.2% | 87.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 78 Sao Tome and Principe 89.1% compare
- 79 Luxembourg 88.7% compare
- 80 Mexico 88.3% compare
- 82 Netherlands 87.2% compare
- 83 Brazil 86.0% compare
- 84 Egypt 85.9% compare
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, male (modelled data) in South Africa?
- Completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data) in South Africa was 87.6% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data) recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 87.6% in 2025.
- What is the lowest completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data) recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.9% in 1981.
- How does South Africa rank for completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data)?
- South Africa ranks 81st out of 164 countries with data for 2025.
- Is completion rate, lower secondary education, male (modelled data) rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. 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, male (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