Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or was 0.9956 GPIA in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
0.9956 GPIA
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
24th
of 97 countries
All-time high
1.13 GPIA
in 1970
All-time low
0.9655 GPIA
in 2008
Years of data
25
1970–2024
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa stood at 0.9956 GPIA.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa peaked at 1.13 GPIA in 1970 and was at its lowest, 0.9655 GPIA, in 2008.
South Africa ranks 24th of 97 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.13 GPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.9734 GPIA | -13.6% |
| 2002 | 0.9819 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 0.9683 GPIA | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 0.9871 GPIA | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 0.9729 GPIA | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 0.9731 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.9867 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 0.9655 GPIA | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 0.9764 GPIA | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 0.9723 GPIA | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 0.9813 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 0.9797 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 0.9656 GPIA | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 0.9841 GPIA | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 0.9795 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 0.9822 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.9791 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 0.9776 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 0.982 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.9908 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 0.9964 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 0.9766 GPIA | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 0.9871 GPIA | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 0.9956 GPIA | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.13 GPIA | 1.13 GPIA | 1.13 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.9761 GPIA | 0.9655 GPIA | 0.9871 GPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.9783 GPIA | 0.9656 GPIA | 0.9841 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9893 GPIA | 0.9766 GPIA | 0.9964 GPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 5.50 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 2.22 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 287,310 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 13.45 % change on previous year (2015)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.82 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.53 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.68 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 2.97 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 818,404 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 3.28 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa was 0.9956 GPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.13 GPIA in 1970.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9655 GPIA in 2008.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- South Africa ranks 24th out of 97 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release