Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent was 1.13 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 1.13 GPIA for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 1.19 GPIA in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.6696 GPIA, in 2011.
South Africa ranks 42nd of 81 countries on this measure, 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 | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.819 GPIA | — |
| 2009 | 0.7173 GPIA | -12.4% |
| 2010 | 0.7148 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.6696 GPIA | -6.3% |
| 2013 | 1.01 GPIA | +51.2% |
| 2014 | 1.09 GPIA | +7.7% |
| 2015 | 1 GPIA | -8.0% |
| 2016 | 0.8606 GPIA | -14.2% |
| 2017 | 1.13 GPIA | +30.8% |
| 2018 | 0.832 GPIA | -26.1% |
| 2019 | 0.899 GPIA | +8.1% |
| 2020 | 1.19 GPIA | +32.4% |
| 2021 | 1.11 GPIA | -7.0% |
| 2022 | 0.8273 GPIA | -25.3% |
| 2023 | 1.13 GPIA | +36.1% |
| 2024 | 1.13 GPIA | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.7682 GPIA | 0.7173 GPIA | 0.819 GPIA | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.9119 GPIA | 0.6696 GPIA | 1.13 GPIA | 9 |
| 2020s | 1.08 GPIA | 0.8273 GPIA | 1.19 GPIA | 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 1.13 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 1.19 GPIA in 2020.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6696 GPIA in 2011.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 42nd out of 81 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 3.5%. 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, rural, 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