What is lower secondary school starting age in South Africa?

Lower secondary school starting age in South Africa was 14 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

What is the highest lower secondary school starting age recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 14 years in 1997.

What is the lowest lower secondary school starting age recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 13 years in 1970.

How does South Africa rank for lower secondary school starting age?

South Africa ranks 1st out of 209 countries with data for 2025.

Is lower secondary school starting age rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Africa data come from?

The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Lower secondary school starting age (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Lower secondary school starting age in South Africa

Name: Lower secondary school starting age in South Africa
Creator: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

South Africa: Lower secondary school starting age was 14 years in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

14 years

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

1st

of 209 countries

All-time high

14 years

in 1997

All-time low

13 years

in 1970

Years of data

1970–2025

Lower secondary school starting age in South Africa, 1970–2025

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2025, lower secondary school starting age in South Africa stood at 14 years. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, lower secondary school starting age in South Africa peaked at 14 years in 1997 and was at its lowest, 13 years, in 1970.

That places South Africa 1st out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1970s	13 years	13 years	13 years	10
1980s	13 years	13 years	13 years	10
1990s	13.3 years	13 years	14 years	10
2000s	14 years	14 years	14 years	10
2010s	14 years	14 years	14 years	10
2020s	14 years	14 years	14 years	6

Countries ranked near South Africa

1 Namibia 14 years compare
1 Tanzania 14 years compare
1 Zambia 14 years compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for South Africa

Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
Population ages 15-64 67.4% (2025)
Population ages 0-14 25.7% (2025)
Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
School enrollment, primary 101.8% (2023)
Primary education, teachers 287,310 (2023)
Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.21 live births per woman (2024)
School enrollment, primary, female 99.2% (2023)
School enrollment, primary, male 104.3% (2023)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is lower secondary school starting age in South Africa?: Lower secondary school starting age in South Africa was 14 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest lower secondary school starting age recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 14 years in 1997.
What is the lowest lower secondary school starting age recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 13 years in 1970.
How does South Africa rank for lower secondary school starting age?: South Africa ranks 1st out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
Is lower secondary school starting age rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?: The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Lower secondary school starting age (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator: Lower secondary school starting age (years)
Unit: years
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 209 places, 11,411 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Lower secondary school starting age is the age at which students would enter lower secondary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.