Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent was 0.3899 LPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa, 2008–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa is 0.3899 LPIA, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 35.4% on the previous year and up 101.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 0.3899 LPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.1818 LPIA, in 2013.
That places South Africa 45th out of 83 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.2068 LPIA | — |
| 2009 | 0.1881 LPIA | -9.0% |
| 2010 | 0.1959 LPIA | +4.1% |
| 2011 | 0.2021 LPIA | +3.2% |
| 2013 | 0.1818 LPIA | -10.0% |
| 2014 | 0.1939 LPIA | +6.6% |
| 2015 | 0.2326 LPIA | +20.0% |
| 2016 | 0.2924 LPIA | +25.7% |
| 2017 | 0.2056 LPIA | -29.7% |
| 2018 | 0.2555 LPIA | +24.2% |
| 2019 | 0.276 LPIA | +8.0% |
| 2020 | 0.2992 LPIA | +8.4% |
| 2021 | 0.3866 LPIA | +29.2% |
| 2022 | 0.2316 LPIA | -40.1% |
| 2023 | 0.2881 LPIA | +24.4% |
| 2024 | 0.3899 LPIA | +35.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.1975 LPIA | 0.1881 LPIA | 0.2068 LPIA | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.2262 LPIA | 0.1818 LPIA | 0.2924 LPIA | 9 |
| 2020s | 0.3191 LPIA | 0.2316 LPIA | 0.3899 LPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) -2.55 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 225,583 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 61,727 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 748,573 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) -1.43 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 444,590 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) -4.38 % change on previous year (2023)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
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 0.3899 LPIA 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 0.3899 LPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1818 LPIA in 2013.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 45th out of 83 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 101.1%. 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, adjusted location parity index (LPIA). 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