Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 1.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, 2013–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1.3% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2023.
That represents a change of down 19.7% on the previous year and up 142.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa peaked at 1.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2013.
That places South Africa 95th out of 122 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 0.5% | — |
| 2014 | 0.5% | +6.5% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | +3.6% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | +40.0% |
| 2017 | 0.5% | -31.3% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | +20.5% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | +9.0% |
| 2020 | 0.7% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | +12.2% |
| 2022 | 1.6% | +92.3% |
| 2023 | 1.3% | -19.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 7 |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.6% | 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 1.3% 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 2022.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2013.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- South Africa ranks 95th out of 122 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 up 142.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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, 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