Current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of in South Africa
South Africa: Current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of was 20.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of in South Africa, 2003–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 20.7% for current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of down 20.2% on the previous year and down 30.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of in South Africa peaked at 54.7% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 20.7%, in 2024.
That places South Africa 39th out of 100 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 48.8% | — |
| 2004 | 54.7% | +12.3% |
| 2005 | 36.5% | -33.3% |
| 2006 | 43.5% | +19.2% |
| 2007 | 49.0% | +12.6% |
| 2008 | 45.3% | -7.6% |
| 2009 | 47.6% | +5.1% |
| 2010 | 49.3% | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 32.6% | -33.8% |
| 2012 | 30.1% | -7.8% |
| 2013 | 29.0% | -3.8% |
| 2014 | 29.8% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 32.3% | +8.4% |
| 2017 | 29.1% | -9.8% |
| 2018 | 25.5% | -12.4% |
| 2019 | 27.2% | +6.5% |
| 2020 | 37.5% | +38.0% |
| 2021 | 29.8% | -20.4% |
| 2022 | 30.2% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 25.9% | -14.1% |
| 2024 | 20.7% | -20.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 46.5% | 36.5% | 54.7% | 7 |
| 2010s | 31.7% | 25.5% | 49.3% | 9 |
| 2020s | 28.8% | 20.7% | 37.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 181,739 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 339,638 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 410,708 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 407,696 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.50 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.119 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of in South Africa?
- Current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of in South Africa was 20.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 54.7% in 2004.
- What is the lowest current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.7% in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of?
- South Africa ranks 39th out of 100 countries with data for 2024.
- Is current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in pre-primary public institutions (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release