Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or was 0.8407 LPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa stood at 0.8407 LPIA. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is up 6.4% on the previous year and up 16.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa peaked at 0.8407 LPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.2901 LPIA, in 1970.
That places South Africa 45th out of 95 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa, year by year
| Year | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.2901 LPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.5178 LPIA | +78.5% |
| 2002 | 0.5621 LPIA | +8.6% |
| 2003 | 0.5897 LPIA | +4.9% |
| 2004 | 0.5861 LPIA | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 0.6234 LPIA | +6.4% |
| 2006 | 0.6247 LPIA | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 0.6413 LPIA | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 0.625 LPIA | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 0.6767 LPIA | +8.3% |
| 2010 | 0.6788 LPIA | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.6722 LPIA | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 0.7132 LPIA | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 0.7197 LPIA | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.7406 LPIA | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 0.7385 LPIA | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.6796 LPIA | -8.0% |
| 2018 | 0.7428 LPIA | +9.3% |
| 2019 | 0.7612 LPIA | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 0.7929 LPIA | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 0.8352 LPIA | +5.3% |
| 2022 | 0.7901 LPIA | -5.4% |
| 2023 | 0.79 LPIA | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.8407 LPIA | +6.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2901 LPIA | 0.2901 LPIA | 0.2901 LPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.6052 LPIA | 0.5178 LPIA | 0.6767 LPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.7163 LPIA | 0.6722 LPIA | 0.7612 LPIA | 9 |
| 2020s | 0.8098 LPIA | 0.79 LPIA | 0.8407 LPIA | 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 0.8407 LPIA 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 0.8407 LPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2901 LPIA in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- South Africa ranks 45th out of 95 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 16.8%. 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 lower secondary 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 — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release