Gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary … adjusted in South Africa
South Africa: Gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary … adjusted was 1.51 GPIA in 2023. ▲ Rising
Gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender in South Africa, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
In 2023, gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender in South Africa stood at 1.51 GPIA.
That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and up 17.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender in South Africa peaked at 1.56 GPIA in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.6802 GPIA, in 2003.
South Africa ranks 17th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary … adjusted in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 0.6991 GPIA | — |
| 2000 | 0.7057 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 0.7277 GPIA | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 0.6804 GPIA | -6.5% |
| 2003 | 0.6802 GPIA | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.6809 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 1.2 GPIA | +75.8% |
| 2009 | 1.08 GPIA | -10.2% |
| 2010 | 1.04 GPIA | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 1.14 GPIA | +9.5% |
| 2012 | 1.27 GPIA | +11.8% |
| 2013 | 1.29 GPIA | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 1.35 GPIA | +4.9% |
| 2015 | 1.36 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 1.41 GPIA | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 1.41 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 1.41 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 1.44 GPIA | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 1.43 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 1.52 GPIA | +5.9% |
| 2022 | 1.56 GPIA | +2.5% |
| 2023 | 1.51 GPIA | -3.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 1.51 GPIA is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.08 GPIA, 1.4× the median. (32 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 1.51 GPIA is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.7325 GPIA, 2.1× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary … adjusted in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +75.8% | 0.6809 GPIA | 1.2 GPIA |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.6991 GPIA | 0.6991 GPIA | 0.6991 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.8211 GPIA | 0.6802 GPIA | 1.2 GPIA | 7 |
| 2010s | 1.31 GPIA | 1.04 GPIA | 1.44 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5 GPIA | 1.43 GPIA | 1.56 GPIA | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 14 Norway 1.56 GPIA compare
- 15 Montserrat 1.55 GPIA compare
- 16 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1.53 GPIA compare
- 18 Dominica 1.5 GPIA compare
- 19 Seychelles 1.5 GPIA compare
- 20 Tonga 1.49 GPIA compare
More education data for South Africa
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 94.05 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 93.94 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 181,739 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 339,638 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 410,708 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 407,696 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.50 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender in South Africa?
- Gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender in South Africa was 1.51 GPIA in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.56 GPIA in 2022.
- What is the lowest gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6802 GPIA in 2003.
- How does South Africa rank for gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender?
- South Africa ranks 17th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.0%. 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 Gross enrolment ratio, post-secondary non-tertiary, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release