Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 0.9% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, 2012–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
In 2021, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa stood at 0.9%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 21.2% on the previous year and down 24.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa peaked at 1.4% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2020.
South Africa ranks 35th of 72 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.3% | — |
| 2013 | 1.3% | +5.3% |
| 2014 | 1.3% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | -11.2% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 1.4% | +17.3% |
| 2019 | 1.2% | -17.3% |
| 2020 | 0.8% | -34.2% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | +21.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -1.44 % change on previous year (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 0.9% in 2021, 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 1.4% in 2018.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- South Africa ranks 35th out of 72 countries with data for 2021.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.8%. 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 programmes in unspecified fields, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release