Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 0.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, 2013–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa is 0.8%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 34.0% on the previous year and down 46.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa peaked at 1.6% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2023.
South Africa ranks 41st of 111 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 | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.6% | — |
| 2014 | 1.6% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 1.5% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 1.4% | -8.6% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | +11.3% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | -6.3% |
| 2020 | 1.1% | -19.3% |
| 2021 | 1.5% | +28.6% |
| 2022 | 1.3% | -13.7% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | -34.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 3.65 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), annual growth rate -1.31 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), per capita 0.0578 units per person (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 3.87 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate -1.55 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), per capita 0.0612 units per person (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 5.50 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 2.22 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 287,310 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 13.45 % change on previous year (2015)
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 0.8% 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 1.6% in 2014.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- South Africa ranks 41st out of 111 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 46.5%. 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 Services programmes, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). 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