Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population was 0.9273 LPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Africa is 0.9273 LPIA, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 2.3% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Africa peaked at 0.9313 LPIA in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.4226 LPIA, in 1970.
South Africa ranks 62nd of 95 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Africa, year by year
| Year | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.4226 LPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.6722 LPIA | +59.1% |
| 2002 | 0.7857 LPIA | +16.9% |
| 2003 | 0.7923 LPIA | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 0.8021 LPIA | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 0.7913 LPIA | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 0.7945 LPIA | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 0.8022 LPIA | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 0.8128 LPIA | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 0.8423 LPIA | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 0.8474 LPIA | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 0.8562 LPIA | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 0.8552 LPIA | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 0.8556 LPIA | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.8769 LPIA | +2.5% |
| 2015 | 0.8753 LPIA | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 0.8839 LPIA | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 0.9067 LPIA | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 0.8849 LPIA | -2.4% |
| 2019 | 0.8947 LPIA | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 0.9313 LPIA | +4.1% |
| 2021 | 0.931 LPIA | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.9094 LPIA | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 0.9065 LPIA | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 0.9273 LPIA | +2.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.4226 LPIA | 0.4226 LPIA | 0.4226 LPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.7884 LPIA | 0.6722 LPIA | 0.8423 LPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.8737 LPIA | 0.8474 LPIA | 0.9067 LPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9211 LPIA | 0.9065 LPIA | 0.9313 LPIA | 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 0.9273 LPIA 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 0.9313 LPIA in 2020.
- What is the lowest educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4226 LPIA in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population?
- South Africa ranks 62nd out of 95 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 5.8%. 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 Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population 25+ years, female, adjusted location parity index (LPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release