Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master s male in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master s male was 2.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent in South Africa, 2008–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in South Africa is 2.7%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is up 173.3% on the previous year and up 182.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 2.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2018.
South Africa ranks 61st of 81 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master s male in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1.0% | — |
| 2009 | 0.9% | -9.3% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | +10.5% |
| 2011 | 1.2% | +15.2% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | -28.6% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | +13.2% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | +36.2% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | +25.3% |
| 2018 | 0.8% | -51.8% |
| 2019 | 1.0% | +30.4% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | -10.7% |
| 2021 | 2.2% | +146.5% |
| 2022 | 1.0% | -54.7% |
| 2023 | 1.0% | -3.4% |
| 2024 | 2.7% | +173.3% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 2.7% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.7%, 100% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 2.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.7%, 1.0× the median. (9 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.6% | 8 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 0.9% | 2.7% | 5 |
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 2.7% 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 2.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2018.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 61st out of 81 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 182.9%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release