Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa

South Africa: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 16.0% in 2018. ▬ Flat

Latest (2018)
16.0%
Change on year
up 3.6%
World rank
5th
of 97 countries
All-time high
16.0%
in 2018
All-time low
14.6%
in 2016
Years of data
5
2014–2018

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, 2014–2018

0510152014201620182014: 15.7 %2015: 15.2 %2016: 14.6 %2017: 15.5 %2018: 16 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2018, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa stood at 16.0%. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.

That represents a change of up 3.6% on the previous year and up 2.5% over five years.

South Africa ranks 5th of 97 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Social Sciences, Journalism and Information programmes, both sexes (%) in South Africa, 2014 to 2018.
Year % Change
2014 15.7%
2015 15.2% -3.0%
2016 14.6% -4.0%
2017 15.5% +6.3%
2018 16.0% +3.6%

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 2 Samoa 21.1% compare
  2. 3 Burkina Faso 16.3% compare
  3. 4 Armenia 16.2% compare
  4. 6 Iceland 15.5% compare
  5. 7 Algeria 14.9% compare
  6. 8 Canada 14.6% compare

See the full ranking of 97 places →

More education data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

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 16.0% in 2018, 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 16.0% in 2018.
What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 14.6% in 2016.
How does South Africa rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
South Africa ranks 5th out of 97 countries with data for 2018.
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 Social Sciences, Journalism and Information programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-social-sciences/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Social Sciences, Journalism and Information programmes, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
97 places, 1,144 data points, 1998–2020
Last refreshed

Share of all tertiary graduates who completed Social Sciences, Journalism and Information programmes in the reference year.