Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 6.7% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, 2013–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 6.7% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2023.
The figure is up 6.4% on the previous year and down 20.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa peaked at 8.7% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 6.3%, in 2022.
South Africa ranks 100th of 124 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 8.4% | — |
| 2014 | 8.7% | +2.7% |
| 2015 | 8.7% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 8.3% | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 8.1% | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 8.0% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 8.0% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 7.0% | -12.8% |
| 2021 | 7.4% | +6.3% |
| 2022 | 6.3% | -15.2% |
| 2023 | 6.7% | +6.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 8.3% | 8.0% | 8.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 6.8% | 6.3% | 7.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 97 Madagascar 7.7% compare
- 98 United States of America 7.3% compare
- 99 Mozambique 7.3% compare
- 101 Luxembourg 6.6% compare
- 102 Dominican Republic 6.6% compare
- 103 Uruguay 6.2% compare
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 in South Africa?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa was 6.7% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 8.7% in 2014.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.3% in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- South Africa ranks 100th out of 124 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.8%. 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 Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction programmes, 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