Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or was 85.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 85.4% for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in 2024. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is up 9.8% on the previous year and up 11.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa peaked at 85.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 28.1%, in 1980.
That places South Africa 53rd out of 134 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 31.1% | — |
| 1980 | 28.1% | -9.4% |
| 1985 | 28.9% | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 55.6% | +92.5% |
| 2002 | 61.4% | +10.5% |
| 2003 | 64.0% | +4.3% |
| 2004 | 64.4% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 65.4% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 66.4% | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 67.3% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 68.0% | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 71.9% | +5.8% |
| 2010 | 72.2% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 73.1% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 75.3% | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 68.6% | -8.9% |
| 2014 | 76.6% | +11.6% |
| 2015 | 77.2% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 71.1% | -7.9% |
| 2017 | 72.3% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 73.5% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 74.1% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 79.3% | +7.0% |
| 2021 | 83.9% | +5.9% |
| 2022 | 76.6% | -8.7% |
| 2023 | 77.8% | +1.5% |
| 2024 | 85.4% | +9.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 31.1% | 31.1% | 31.1% | 1 |
| 1980s | 28.5% | 28.1% | 28.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 64.9% | 55.6% | 71.9% | 9 |
| 2010s | 73.4% | 68.6% | 77.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.6% | 76.6% | 85.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- 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)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 444,590 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) -4.38 % change on previous year (2023)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
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 85.4% 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 85.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.1% in 1980.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- South Africa ranks 53rd out of 134 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 11.5%. 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, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release