Educational attainment rate, completed … male Bachelor location LPIA in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed … male Bachelor location LPIA was 0.3981 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 0.3981 LPIA, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 46.3% on the previous year and up 131.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 0.3981 LPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.1711 LPIA, in 2013.
That places South Africa 39th out of 84 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 … male Bachelor location LPIA in South Africa, year by year
| Year | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.2096 LPIA | — |
| 2009 | 0.2061 LPIA | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 0.2087 LPIA | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 0.2305 LPIA | +10.4% |
| 2013 | 0.1711 LPIA | -25.8% |
| 2014 | 0.1722 LPIA | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 0.2224 LPIA | +29.2% |
| 2016 | 0.3147 LPIA | +41.5% |
| 2017 | 0.1924 LPIA | -38.8% |
| 2018 | 0.2809 LPIA | +46.0% |
| 2019 | 0.2958 LPIA | +5.3% |
| 2020 | 0.2762 LPIA | -6.6% |
| 2021 | 0.3658 LPIA | +32.4% |
| 2022 | 0.2635 LPIA | -28.0% |
| 2023 | 0.272 LPIA | +3.2% |
| 2024 | 0.3981 LPIA | +46.3% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.3981 LPIA is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.3349 LPIA, 1.2× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.3981 LPIA is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.1721 LPIA, 2.3× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.2079 LPIA | 0.2061 LPIA | 0.2096 LPIA | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.2321 LPIA | 0.1711 LPIA | 0.3147 LPIA | 9 |
| 2020s | 0.3151 LPIA | 0.2635 LPIA | 0.3981 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 rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa was 0.3981 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 0.3981 LPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1711 LPIA in 2013.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 39th out of 84 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 131.2%. 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, male, 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