Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 0.998 GPIA in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
0.998 GPIA
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
43rd
of 104 countries
All-time high
1.14 GPIA
in 1970
All-time low
0.9735 GPIA
in 2008
Years of data
25
1970–2024
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.998 GPIA for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa peaked at 1.14 GPIA in 1970 and was at its lowest, 0.9735 GPIA, in 2008.
South Africa ranks 43rd of 104 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.14 GPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.9821 GPIA | -13.6% |
| 2002 | 0.988 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 0.9828 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 0.9956 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 0.9777 GPIA | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 0.9835 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 0.9936 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 0.9735 GPIA | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 0.9782 GPIA | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 0.9752 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.9898 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 0.9836 GPIA | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 0.9806 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 0.9896 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.9863 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 0.9912 GPIA | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 0.9892 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 0.9855 GPIA | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 0.9919 GPIA | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 0.9955 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 0.994 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 0.9849 GPIA | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 0.9893 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 0.998 GPIA | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.14 GPIA | 1.14 GPIA | 1.14 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.9839 GPIA | 0.9735 GPIA | 0.9956 GPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.9863 GPIA | 0.9752 GPIA | 0.9919 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9924 GPIA | 0.9849 GPIA | 0.998 GPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 3.65 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), annual growth rate -1.31 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), per capita 0.0578 units per person (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 3.87 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate -1.55 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), per capita 0.0612 units per person (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 5.50 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 2.22 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 287,310 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 13.45 % change on previous year (2015)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa was 0.998 GPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.14 GPIA in 1970.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9735 GPIA in 2008.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- South Africa ranks 43rd out of 104 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release