Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master rural both in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master rural both was 0.8% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent in South Africa, 2008–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.8% for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in 2024. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 639.8% on the previous year and up 487.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in South Africa peaked at 0.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2019.
South Africa ranks 48th of 60 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master rural both in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.1% | — |
| 2009 | 0.1% | -14.5% |
| 2010 | 0.1% | +21.0% |
| 2011 | 0.1% | -12.7% |
| 2013 | 0.1% | +9.7% |
| 2014 | 0.1% | +65.0% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | +107.3% |
| 2016 | 0.1% | -55.3% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | +158.5% |
| 2018 | 0.1% | -73.9% |
| 2019 | 0.1% | -28.7% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | +722.9% |
| 2022 | 0.1% | -77.1% |
| 2023 | 0.1% | -5.3% |
| 2024 | 0.8% | +639.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.8%, 1.0× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master rural both in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +722.9% | 0.1% | 0.5% |
| 2024 | +639.8% | 0.1% | 0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 9 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 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 0.8% 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 0.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2019.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent?
- South Africa ranks 48th out of 60 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 487.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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, rural, both sexes (%). 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