Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … male Master urban s in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … male Master urban s was 3.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent in South Africa, 2008–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in South Africa stood at 3.5%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 161.8% on the previous year and up 180.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 3.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2018.
That places South Africa 51st out of 68 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … male Master urban s in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1.4% | — |
| 2009 | 1.2% | -10.0% |
| 2010 | 1.4% | +11.1% |
| 2011 | 1.6% | +15.0% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | -28.3% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | +11.7% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | +38.3% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | +25.6% |
| 2018 | 1.0% | -51.5% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | +31.8% |
| 2020 | 1.2% | -10.0% |
| 2021 | 3.0% | +143.3% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | -54.5% |
| 2023 | 1.3% | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 3.5% | +161.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 3.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.4%, 1.0× the median. (18 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 3.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.5%, 100% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.0% | 2.2% | 8 |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 1.2% | 3.5% | 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 3.5% 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 3.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2018.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 51st out of 68 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 180.1%. 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, urban, 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