Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts was 4.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts in South Africa, 2012–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts in South Africa stood at 4.2%. That is the lowest value across all 12 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.6% on the previous year and down 21.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts in South Africa peaked at 5.5% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 4.2%, in 2023.
South Africa ranks 99th of 123 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 5.5% | — |
| 2013 | 5.3% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 5.3% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 5.4% | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 4.9% | -9.9% |
| 2017 | 5.2% | +6.4% |
| 2018 | 5.0% | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 5.1% | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 5.0% | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 4.9% | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 4.3% | -13.1% |
| 2023 | 4.2% | -2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5.2% | 4.9% | 5.5% | 8 |
| 2020s | 4.6% | 4.2% | 5.0% | 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 graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts in South Africa?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts in South Africa was 4.2% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5.5% in 2012.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.2% in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts?
- South Africa ranks 99th out of 123 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from arts rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Arts and Humanities programmes, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release