Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 32.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 32.1% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and up 51.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa peaked at 32.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 1970.
That places South Africa 62nd out of 109 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.7% | — |
| 2001 | 12.6% | +368.1% |
| 2008 | 16.7% | +32.5% |
| 2009 | 17.4% | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 18.3% | +5.4% |
| 2011 | 18.8% | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 20.2% | +7.2% |
| 2014 | 21.2% | +4.8% |
| 2015 | 23.9% | +12.8% |
| 2016 | 24.3% | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 25.5% | +5.1% |
| 2018 | 25.6% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 26.7% | +4.6% |
| 2020 | 32.9% | +23.2% |
| 2021 | 32.1% | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 29.9% | -6.8% |
| 2023 | 32.3% | +8.1% |
| 2024 | 32.1% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 15.6% | 12.6% | 17.4% | 3 |
| 2010s | 22.7% | 18.3% | 26.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 31.9% | 29.9% | 32.9% | 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 upper secondary education or in South Africa?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa was 32.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 32.9% in 2020.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- South Africa ranks 62nd out of 109 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 51.7%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release