Completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa
South Africa: Completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity was 1.19 modelled data in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
1.19 modelled data
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
32nd
of 164 countries
All-time high
1.19 modelled data
in 2025
All-time low
0.8329 modelled data
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025
Completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in modelled data.
Analysis
In 2025, completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa stood at 1.19 modelled data. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa peaked at 1.19 modelled data in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.8329 modelled data, in 1981.
South Africa ranks 32nd of 164 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa, year by year
| Year | modelled data | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 0.8329 modelled data | — |
| 1982 | 0.8464 modelled data | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 0.857 modelled data | +1.3% |
| 1984 | 0.864 modelled data | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 0.8668 modelled data | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 0.8709 modelled data | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 0.8759 modelled data | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 0.8891 modelled data | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 0.9031 modelled data | +1.6% |
| 1990 | 0.9159 modelled data | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 0.9213 modelled data | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 0.9344 modelled data | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 0.945 modelled data | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 0.9555 modelled data | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 0.9721 modelled data | +1.7% |
| 1996 | 0.986 modelled data | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 0.9993 modelled data | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 1 modelled data | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 1.02 modelled data | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 1.03 modelled data | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 1.04 modelled data | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 1.05 modelled data | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 1.05 modelled data | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 1.06 modelled data | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 1.07 modelled data | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 1.08 modelled data | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 1.09 modelled data | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 1.09 modelled data | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 1.1 modelled data | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 1.1 modelled data | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 1.11 modelled data | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 1.12 modelled data | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 1.12 modelled data | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 1.13 modelled data | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 1.14 modelled data | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 1.15 modelled data | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 1.16 modelled data | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 1.16 modelled data | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 1.17 modelled data | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 1.17 modelled data | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 1.18 modelled data | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 1.18 modelled data | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 1.18 modelled data | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 1.19 modelled data | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 1.19 modelled data | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.8673 modelled data | 0.8329 modelled data | 0.9031 modelled data | 9 |
| 1990s | 0.9647 modelled data | 0.9159 modelled data | 1.02 modelled data | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.07 modelled data | 1.03 modelled data | 1.1 modelled data | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.14 modelled data | 1.1 modelled data | 1.17 modelled data | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.18 modelled data | 1.17 modelled data | 1.19 modelled data | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2023)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 287,310 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 25.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa?
- Completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity in South Africa was 1.19 modelled data in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.19 modelled data in 2025.
- What is the lowest completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8329 modelled data in 1981.
- How does South Africa rank for completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity?
- South Africa ranks 32nd out of 164 countries with data for 2025.
- Is completion rate, upper secondary education, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.1%. 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, upper 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