Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 4.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, 2013–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa stood at 4.0%.
The figure is up 11.6% on the previous year and down 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa peaked at 4.4% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 3.6%, in 2022.
South Africa ranks 88th of 123 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
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 | 4.2% | — |
| 2014 | 4.4% | +2.7% |
| 2015 | 4.4% | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 4.3% | -3.7% |
| 2017 | 4.3% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 4.3% | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 4.3% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 3.8% | -12.0% |
| 2021 | 4.1% | +9.0% |
| 2022 | 3.6% | -13.0% |
| 2023 | 4.0% | +11.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.3% | 4.2% | 4.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 3.9% | 3.6% | 4.1% | 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 in South Africa?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa was 4.0% 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 4.4% in 2015.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.6% in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- South Africa ranks 88th out of 123 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 5.1%. 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, female (%). 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