Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent was 1.17 GPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa, 2008–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1.17 GPIA for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in 2024. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.8% on the previous year and up 32.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 1.17 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.7867 GPIA, in 2010.
That places South Africa 17th out of 86 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.8175 GPIA | — |
| 2009 | 0.8358 GPIA | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 0.7867 GPIA | -5.9% |
| 2011 | 0.8518 GPIA | +8.3% |
| 2013 | 0.898 GPIA | +5.4% |
| 2014 | 0.877 GPIA | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 0.9167 GPIA | +4.5% |
| 2016 | 0.9886 GPIA | +7.8% |
| 2017 | 1.02 GPIA | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 0.9968 GPIA | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 1.02 GPIA | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 1.08 GPIA | +5.9% |
| 2021 | 1.01 GPIA | -6.4% |
| 2022 | 1.06 GPIA | +4.1% |
| 2023 | 1.03 GPIA | -2.2% |
| 2024 | 1.17 GPIA | +12.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.8267 GPIA | 0.8175 GPIA | 0.8358 GPIA | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.9287 GPIA | 0.7867 GPIA | 1.02 GPIA | 9 |
| 2020s | 1.07 GPIA | 1.01 GPIA | 1.17 GPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa was 1.17 GPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.17 GPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7867 GPIA in 2010.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 17th out of 86 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.9%. 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 rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release