Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population was 0.9861 GPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Africa is 0.9861 GPIA, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Africa peaked at 0.9861 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.9382 GPIA, in 2001.
South Africa ranks 73rd of 132 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.948 GPIA | — |
| 1985 | 0.9433 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 0.9382 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 0.9534 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 0.949 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 0.9604 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 0.9512 GPIA | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 0.9501 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 0.9496 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 0.9544 GPIA | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 0.9596 GPIA | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 0.9624 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.97 GPIA | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 0.9684 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 0.9687 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.9682 GPIA | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.9736 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.9724 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 0.9792 GPIA | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 0.9714 GPIA | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 0.9754 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.9846 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 0.9836 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 0.9808 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 0.9798 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 0.9861 GPIA | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.948 GPIA | 0.948 GPIA | 0.948 GPIA | 1 |
| 1980s | 0.9433 GPIA | 0.9433 GPIA | 0.9433 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.9518 GPIA | 0.9382 GPIA | 0.9604 GPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.971 GPIA | 0.9624 GPIA | 0.9792 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.983 GPIA | 0.9798 GPIA | 0.9861 GPIA | 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 educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Africa?
- Educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Africa was 0.9861 GPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9861 GPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9382 GPIA in 2001.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population?
- South Africa ranks 73rd out of 132 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. 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 Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population 25+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release