Percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education was 17.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 17.5% for percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 30.5% on the previous year and down 40.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education in South Africa peaked at 36.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 13.4%, in 2022.
That places South Africa 42nd out of 185 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 32.0% | — |
| 1999 | 30.8% | -3.8% |
| 2000 | 30.8% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 28.1% | -9.0% |
| 2003 | 24.2% | -13.7% |
| 2004 | 22.4% | -7.3% |
| 2017 | 29.5% | +31.7% |
| 2018 | 23.7% | -19.7% |
| 2019 | 21.1% | -11.1% |
| 2020 | 21.0% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 36.7% | +74.7% |
| 2022 | 13.4% | -63.5% |
| 2023 | 17.5% | +30.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 17.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.9%, 6.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 17.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 29.4%, 59% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +74.7% | 21.0% | 36.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 31.4% | 30.8% | 32.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 26.4% | 22.4% | 30.8% | 4 |
| 2010s | 24.8% | 21.1% | 29.5% | 3 |
| 2020s | 22.1% | 13.4% | 36.7% | 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 pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education in South Africa?
- Percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education in South Africa was 17.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 36.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.4% in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education?
- South Africa ranks 42nd out of 185 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 40.9%. 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 pupils enrolled in lower secondary general education who are at least 2 years over-age for their current grade, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release