Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent was 16.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa, 2008–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa stood at 16.1%. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 82.1% on the previous year and up 89.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 16.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.7%, in 2008.
That places South Africa 66th out of 90 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 | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 6.7% | — |
| 2009 | 6.8% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 7.2% | +7.2% |
| 2011 | 7.4% | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 8.3% | +12.7% |
| 2014 | 8.5% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 8.3% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 8.1% | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 10.9% | +34.6% |
| 2018 | 8.8% | -19.4% |
| 2019 | 9.1% | +3.7% |
| 2020 | 8.1% | -12.0% |
| 2021 | 16.0% | +98.7% |
| 2022 | 7.7% | -51.7% |
| 2023 | 8.8% | +14.3% |
| 2024 | 16.1% | +82.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.7% | 6.7% | 6.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 8.5% | 7.2% | 10.9% | 9 |
| 2020s | 11.3% | 7.7% | 16.1% | 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 16.1% 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 16.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.7% in 2008.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 66th out of 90 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 89.0%. 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, male (%). 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