Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 0.9863 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
South Africa recorded 0.9863 GPIA for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in 2024. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa peaked at 0.9863 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.9285 GPIA, in 1985.
That places South Africa 72nd out of 133 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.9527 GPIA | — |
| 1985 | 0.9285 GPIA | -2.5% |
| 2001 | 0.9347 GPIA | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 0.9496 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 0.9366 GPIA | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 0.9565 GPIA | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 0.9356 GPIA | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 0.9395 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 0.9491 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 0.9332 GPIA | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 0.9441 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 0.9494 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 0.9689 GPIA | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 0.9592 GPIA | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 0.9561 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 0.9702 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 0.9625 GPIA | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 0.9656 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.9753 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 0.9635 GPIA | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.971 GPIA | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 0.9818 GPIA | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 0.9772 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 0.9719 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 0.9723 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.9863 GPIA | +1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.9527 GPIA | 0.9527 GPIA | 0.9527 GPIA | 1 |
| 1980s | 0.9285 GPIA | 0.9285 GPIA | 0.9285 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.9421 GPIA | 0.9332 GPIA | 0.9565 GPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.9642 GPIA | 0.9494 GPIA | 0.9753 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9779 GPIA | 0.9719 GPIA | 0.9863 GPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- 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)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.82 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.53 % change on previous year (2023)
- 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)
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 0.9863 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 0.9863 GPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9285 GPIA in 1985.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- South Africa ranks 72nd out of 133 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 1.7%. 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, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release