Percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes was 45.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 45.7% for percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes in South Africa peaked at 56.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 42.4%, in 2016.
That places South Africa 59th out of 113 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 47.0% | — |
| 1999 | 47.0% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 44.0% | -6.4% |
| 2001 | 46.3% | +5.1% |
| 2002 | 46.6% | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 47.0% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 47.0% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 47.0% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 46.7% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 46.4% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 46.0% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 45.7% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 46.8% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 42.4% | -9.3% |
| 2019 | 50.1% | +18.2% |
| 2020 | 55.3% | +10.3% |
| 2021 | 56.7% | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 45.1% | -20.5% |
| 2023 | 45.7% | +1.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 45.7% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 56.1%, 81% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 45.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 26.2%, 1.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 47.0% | 47.0% | 47.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 46.3% | 44.0% | 47.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.5% | 42.4% | 50.1% | 3 |
| 2020s | 50.7% | 45.1% | 56.7% | 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 teachers in secondary education vocational programmes in South Africa?
- Percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes in South Africa was 45.7% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 56.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.4% in 2016.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes?
- South Africa ranks 59th out of 113 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of teachers in secondary education vocational programmes rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. 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 teachers in secondary education vocational programmes who are female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release