Share in poverty vs. educational attainment in South Africa
South Africa: Share in poverty vs. educational attainment was 11.49 years in 2040. ▲ Rising
Share in poverty vs. educational attainment in South Africa, 1980–2040
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 11.49 years for share in poverty vs. educational attainment in 2040. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share in poverty vs. educational attainment in South Africa peaked at 11.49 years in 2040 and was at its lowest, 5.18 years, in 1980.
South Africa ranks 60th of 146 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.2 years | 5.18 years | 5.21 years | 2 |
| 1990s | 7.63 years | 6.89 years | 8.37 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 8.39 years | 7.92 years | 8.86 years | 2 |
| 2010s | 10.02 years | 9.89 years | 10.15 years | 2 |
| 2020s | 10.6 years | 10.47 years | 10.73 years | 2 |
| 2030s | 11.16 years | 11.05 years | 11.27 years | 2 |
| 2040s | 11.49 years | 11.49 years | 11.49 years | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 25.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 101.8% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 287,310 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.21 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 99.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share in poverty vs. educational attainment in South Africa?
- Share in poverty vs. educational attainment in South Africa was 11.49 years in 2040, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share in poverty vs. educational attainment recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11.49 years in 2040.
- What is the lowest share in poverty vs. educational attainment recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.18 years in 1980.
- How does South Africa rank for share in poverty vs. educational attainment?
- South Africa ranks 60th out of 146 countries with data for 2040.
- Is share in poverty vs. educational attainment rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share in poverty vs. educational attainment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average years of formal education for individuals aged 15-64.