Educational attainment rate … Educational Master location LPIA in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate … Educational Master location LPIA was 0.2407 LPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent in South Africa, 2008–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in South Africa is 0.2407 LPIA, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
That represents a change of up 144.5% on the previous year and up 78.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 0.2407 LPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.0548 LPIA, in 2019.
South Africa ranks 43rd of 59 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate … Educational Master location LPIA in South Africa, year by year
| Year | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.0869 LPIA | — |
| 2009 | 0.078 LPIA | -10.3% |
| 2010 | 0.0879 LPIA | +12.6% |
| 2011 | 0.0644 LPIA | -26.8% |
| 2013 | 0.0962 LPIA | +49.5% |
| 2014 | 0.135 LPIA | +40.3% |
| 2015 | 0.1827 LPIA | +35.3% |
| 2017 | 0.1667 LPIA | -8.8% |
| 2018 | 0.0943 LPIA | -43.4% |
| 2019 | 0.0548 LPIA | -41.9% |
| 2021 | 0.1819 LPIA | +231.6% |
| 2022 | 0.0992 LPIA | -45.5% |
| 2023 | 0.0984 LPIA | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 0.2407 LPIA | +144.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.2407 LPIA is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.2258 LPIA, 1.1× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.0825 LPIA | 0.078 LPIA | 0.0869 LPIA | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.1103 LPIA | 0.0548 LPIA | 0.1827 LPIA | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.155 LPIA | 0.0984 LPIA | 0.2407 LPIA | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 94.05 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 93.94 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 181,739 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 339,638 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 410,708 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 407,696 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.50 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in South Africa?
- Educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in South Africa was 0.2407 LPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.2407 LPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0548 LPIA in 2019.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 43rd out of 59 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 78.2%. 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 Master's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, adjusted location parity index (LPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release