Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public was 93.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in South Africa, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 93.2% for percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in South Africa peaked at 94.5% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 74.0%, in 1999.
South Africa ranks 30th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 74.0% | — |
| 2000 | 89.2% | +20.5% |
| 2015 | 93.0% | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 93.3% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 94.4% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 94.5% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 94.0% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 93.7% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 93.3% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 92.8% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 93.2% | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 93.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 81.2%, 1.1× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 93.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 67.3%, 1.4× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 74.0% | 74.0% | 74.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 89.2% | 89.2% | 89.2% | 1 |
| 2010s | 93.8% | 93.0% | 94.5% | 5 |
| 2020s | 93.2% | 92.8% | 93.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.119 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in South Africa?
- Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in South Africa was 93.2% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 94.5% in 2018.
- What is the lowest percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 74.0% in 1999.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public?
- South Africa ranks 30th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. 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 Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public institutions, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release