Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 was 5.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa is 5.3%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of down 7.0% on the previous year and down 42.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa peaked at 19.1% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 5.3%, in 2023.
That places South Africa 65th out of 185 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 19.1% | — |
| 1999 | 18.0% | -5.9% |
| 2000 | 18.9% | +5.5% |
| 2001 | 17.7% | -6.7% |
| 2002 | 16.0% | -9.3% |
| 2003 | 14.8% | -7.6% |
| 2004 | 13.4% | -9.8% |
| 2015 | 9.2% | -31.4% |
| 2016 | 8.7% | -5.0% |
| 2017 | 6.2% | -29.1% |
| 2018 | 8.3% | +35.1% |
| 2019 | 7.5% | -10.7% |
| 2020 | 7.2% | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 6.3% | -12.8% |
| 2022 | 5.7% | -10.1% |
| 2023 | 5.3% | -7.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 5.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.8%, 3.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 5.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 21.6%, 24% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | +35.1% | 6.2% | 8.3% |
| 2015 | -31.4% | 13.4% | 9.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18.5% | 18.0% | 19.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 16.2% | 13.4% | 18.9% | 5 |
| 2010s | 8.0% | 6.2% | 9.2% | 5 |
| 2020s | 6.1% | 5.3% | 7.2% | 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 primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa?
- Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa was 5.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 19.1% in 1998.
- What is the lowest percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.3% in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2?
- South Africa ranks 65th out of 185 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.4%. 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 primary education who are at least 2 years over-age for their current grade, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release