Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or was 76.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa stood at 76.0%. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of up 14.3% on the previous year and up 24.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa peaked at 76.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 12.9%, in 1970.
South Africa ranks 45th of 94 countries on this measure, 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 | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 12.9% | — |
| 2001 | 35.9% | +178.2% |
| 2002 | 42.1% | +17.2% |
| 2003 | 45.9% | +9.0% |
| 2004 | 45.2% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 47.4% | +4.9% |
| 2006 | 48.0% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 49.2% | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 49.7% | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 55.7% | +12.0% |
| 2010 | 56.1% | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 55.9% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 60.2% | +7.7% |
| 2014 | 61.1% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 63.3% | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 58.3% | -7.9% |
| 2017 | 55.4% | -4.9% |
| 2018 | 60.3% | +8.8% |
| 2019 | 61.8% | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 67.8% | +9.6% |
| 2021 | 74.6% | +10.1% |
| 2022 | 65.6% | -12.0% |
| 2023 | 66.4% | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 76.0% | +14.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 12.9% | 12.9% | 12.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 46.6% | 35.9% | 55.7% | 9 |
| 2010s | 59.1% | 55.4% | 63.3% | 9 |
| 2020s | 70.1% | 65.6% | 76.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- 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)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.19 million (2023)
- 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)
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 76.0% 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 76.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.9% in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- South Africa ranks 45th out of 94 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 24.3%. 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, rural, male (%). 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