Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 0.8509 LPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.8509 LPIA for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 4.6% on the previous year and up 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa peaked at 0.8509 LPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.2313 LPIA, in 1970.
South Africa ranks 64th of 100 countries on this measure, 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 | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.2313 LPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.5134 LPIA | +122.0% |
| 2002 | 0.5799 LPIA | +12.9% |
| 2003 | 0.5863 LPIA | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 0.6037 LPIA | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 0.6196 LPIA | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 0.6227 LPIA | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 0.645 LPIA | +3.6% |
| 2008 | 0.6303 LPIA | -2.3% |
| 2009 | 0.6788 LPIA | +7.7% |
| 2010 | 0.6891 LPIA | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 0.7033 LPIA | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 0.7283 LPIA | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 0.711 LPIA | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 0.7345 LPIA | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 0.7413 LPIA | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 0.7576 LPIA | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 0.8178 LPIA | +7.9% |
| 2018 | 0.7679 LPIA | -6.1% |
| 2019 | 0.782 LPIA | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 0.8345 LPIA | +6.7% |
| 2021 | 0.8284 LPIA | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 0.825 LPIA | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 0.8131 LPIA | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 0.8509 LPIA | +4.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2313 LPIA | 0.2313 LPIA | 0.2313 LPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.6089 LPIA | 0.5134 LPIA | 0.6788 LPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.7433 LPIA | 0.6891 LPIA | 0.8178 LPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8304 LPIA | 0.8131 LPIA | 0.8509 LPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.119 units per person (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -1.44 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per capita 0.119 units per person (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 3.65 million (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 0.8509 LPIA 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 0.8509 LPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2313 LPIA in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- South Africa ranks 64th 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 15.8%. 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, female, adjusted location parity index (LPIA). 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