Net attendance rate of primary school in South Africa
South Africa: Net attendance rate of primary school was 97.3% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Net attendance rate of primary school in South Africa, 2016–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, net attendance rate of primary school in South Africa stood at 97.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, net attendance rate of primary school in South Africa peaked at 98.9% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 96.9%, in 2023.
That places South Africa 16th out of 36 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
Net attendance rate of primary school in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 98.9% | — |
| 2020 | 97.8% | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 98.4% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 97.2% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 96.9% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 97.3% | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 97.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 98.3%, 99% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 97.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 84.0%, 1.2× the median. (15 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 98.9% | 98.9% | 98.9% | 1 |
| 2020s | 97.5% | 96.9% | 98.4% | 5 |
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 net attendance rate of primary school in South Africa?
- Net attendance rate of primary school in South Africa was 97.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest net attendance rate of primary school recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 98.9% in 2016.
- What is the lowest net attendance rate of primary school recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 96.9% in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for net attendance rate of primary school?
- South Africa ranks 16th out of 36 countries with data for 2024.
- Is net attendance rate of primary school rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Net attendance rate of primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total number of students of the official age group for primary education who are attending school at any level of education, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population.