Educational attainment: at least some primary … location LPIA male in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment: at least some primary … location LPIA male was 0.9656 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
In 2024, educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Africa stood at 0.9656 LPIA. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
The figure is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Africa peaked at 0.9656 LPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.5145 LPIA, in 1970.
South Africa ranks 55th of 83 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Educational attainment: at least some primary … location LPIA male in South Africa, year by year
| Year | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.5145 LPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.748 LPIA | +45.4% |
| 2002 | 0.8573 LPIA | +14.6% |
| 2003 | 0.8567 LPIA | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 0.8643 LPIA | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 0.8601 LPIA | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 0.8602 LPIA | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.8713 LPIA | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 0.8594 LPIA | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 0.8924 LPIA | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 0.9045 LPIA | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 0.894 LPIA | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 0.9165 LPIA | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 0.9252 LPIA | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.9206 LPIA | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 0.9455 LPIA | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 0.9568 LPIA | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 0.9515 LPIA | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 0.9515 LPIA | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.9506 LPIA | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 0.9656 LPIA | +1.6% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.9656 LPIA is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.9812 LPIA, 98% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.9656 LPIA is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.8642 LPIA, 1.1× the median. (12 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment: at least some primary … location LPIA male in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +45.4% | 0.5145 LPIA | 0.748 LPIA |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.5145 LPIA | 0.5145 LPIA | 0.5145 LPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.8522 LPIA | 0.748 LPIA | 0.8924 LPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.9177 LPIA | 0.894 LPIA | 0.9455 LPIA | 6 |
| 2020s | 0.9552 LPIA | 0.9506 LPIA | 0.9656 LPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 94.05 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 93.94 (2023)
- 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)
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 0.9656 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 0.9656 LPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5145 LPIA in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population?
- South Africa ranks 55th out of 83 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 4.4%. 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, male, adjusted location parity index (LPIA). 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