Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 0.9681 GPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa is 0.9681 GPIA, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.8% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa peaked at 0.9681 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.8474 GPIA, in 1970.
That places South Africa 57th out of 100 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising 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 | 0.8474 GPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.8907 GPIA | +5.1% |
| 2002 | 0.9131 GPIA | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 0.8904 GPIA | -2.5% |
| 2004 | 0.925 GPIA | +3.9% |
| 2005 | 0.9058 GPIA | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 0.9074 GPIA | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 0.9078 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.9087 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 0.9087 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.924 GPIA | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 0.9566 GPIA | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 0.9334 GPIA | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 0.9269 GPIA | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 0.956 GPIA | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 0.9348 GPIA | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 0.9205 GPIA | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 0.9623 GPIA | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 0.926 GPIA | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 0.9356 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 0.9669 GPIA | +3.4% |
| 2021 | 0.952 GPIA | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 0.9551 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 0.9421 GPIA | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 0.9681 GPIA | +2.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.8474 GPIA | 0.8474 GPIA | 0.8474 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.9064 GPIA | 0.8904 GPIA | 0.925 GPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.9376 GPIA | 0.9205 GPIA | 0.9623 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9568 GPIA | 0.9421 GPIA | 0.9681 GPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.68 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 2.97 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 818,404 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 3.28 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.19 million (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) -2.55 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 225,583 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 61,727 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 748,573 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) -1.43 % change on previous year (2023)
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 0.9681 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 0.9681 GPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8474 GPIA in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- South Africa ranks 57th out of 100 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 1.3%. 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 primary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, 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