Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa
South Africa: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 0.9825 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
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa is 0.9825 GPIA, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 3.5% on the previous year and up 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Africa peaked at 1.02 GPIA in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.6705 GPIA, in 1970.
That places South Africa 45th out of 107 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 | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.6705 GPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.8709 GPIA | +29.9% |
| 2008 | 0.9001 GPIA | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 0.8769 GPIA | -2.6% |
| 2010 | 0.8608 GPIA | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 0.8909 GPIA | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 0.932 GPIA | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 0.9242 GPIA | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 0.9199 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 0.905 GPIA | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 0.9129 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 0.9099 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 0.9223 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 0.9413 GPIA | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 0.89 GPIA | -5.4% |
| 2022 | 0.9731 GPIA | +9.3% |
| 2023 | 1.02 GPIA | +4.6% |
| 2024 | 0.9825 GPIA | -3.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.6705 GPIA | 0.6705 GPIA | 0.6705 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.8826 GPIA | 0.8709 GPIA | 0.9001 GPIA | 3 |
| 2010s | 0.9087 GPIA | 0.8608 GPIA | 0.932 GPIA | 9 |
| 2020s | 0.961 GPIA | 0.89 GPIA | 1.02 GPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 42 Kazakhstan 0.9941 GPIA compare
- 43 Brunei 0.9936 GPIA compare
- 44 Russia 0.9896 GPIA compare
- 46 Azerbaijan 0.9816 GPIA compare
- 47 Uzbekistan 0.9802 GPIA compare
- 48 Cyprus 0.9797 GPIA compare
More education data for South Africa
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2023)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 287,310 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
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 0.9825 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 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6705 GPIA in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- South Africa ranks 45th 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 6.3%. 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 upper secondary 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 — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release