Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent was 14.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa, 2008–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa is 14.4%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of up 104.5% on the previous year and up 137.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 14.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 4.6%, in 2008.
That places South Africa 70th out of 112 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 | 4.6% | — |
| 2009 | 4.6% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 4.8% | +4.4% |
| 2011 | 5.2% | +7.0% |
| 2013 | 6.0% | +14.9% |
| 2014 | 6.0% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 6.1% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 6.3% | +3.9% |
| 2017 | 8.2% | +30.9% |
| 2018 | 6.8% | -17.3% |
| 2019 | 7.2% | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 6.6% | -7.9% |
| 2021 | 13.0% | +95.2% |
| 2022 | 6.1% | -53.0% |
| 2023 | 7.0% | +15.3% |
| 2024 | 14.4% | +104.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.6% | 4.6% | 4.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 6.3% | 4.8% | 8.2% | 9 |
| 2020s | 9.4% | 6.1% | 14.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- 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 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 25.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 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 14.4% 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 14.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.6% in 2008.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 70th out of 112 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 137.7%. 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, both sexes (%). 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