Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 1.02 GPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa stood at 1.02 GPIA. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.0% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa peaked at 1.02 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.9207 GPIA, in 2001.
That places South Africa 14th out of 107 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
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 | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.9594 GPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.9207 GPIA | -4.0% |
| 2008 | 0.9365 GPIA | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 0.9506 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 0.9249 GPIA | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 0.937 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 0.9516 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 0.96 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.9792 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 0.985 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.9812 GPIA | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.9697 GPIA | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.9757 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 0.9689 GPIA | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 1 GPIA | +3.3% |
| 2022 | 0.9954 GPIA | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 0.9834 GPIA | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 1.02 GPIA | +4.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.9594 GPIA | 0.9594 GPIA | 0.9594 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.936 GPIA | 0.9207 GPIA | 0.9506 GPIA | 3 |
| 2010s | 0.9627 GPIA | 0.9249 GPIA | 0.985 GPIA | 9 |
| 2020s | 0.9942 GPIA | 0.9689 GPIA | 1.02 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 upper secondary education or in South Africa?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa was 1.02 GPIA 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 1.02 GPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9207 GPIA in 2001.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- South Africa ranks 14th out of 107 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 6.5%. 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, urban, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). 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