Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in South Africa
South Africa: Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary was 101.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in South Africa, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in South Africa stood at 101.8%.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in South Africa peaked at 107.3% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 79.1%, in 1986.
South Africa ranks 95th of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 100.1% | — |
| 1975 | 100.4% | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 88.2% | -12.2% |
| 1978 | 82.0% | -7.1% |
| 1979 | 82.1% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 82.5% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 80.3% | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 79.1% | -1.5% |
| 1987 | 80.4% | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 80.8% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 105.3% | +30.2% |
| 1990 | 104.7% | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 103.9% | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 102.5% | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 101.3% | -1.1% |
| 1997 | 98.3% | -3.0% |
| 1998 | 97.5% | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 97.4% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 92.6% | -5.0% |
| 2001 | 93.4% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 95.7% | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 96.9% | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 97.8% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 97.5% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 98.6% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 101.2% | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 102.4% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 102.6% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 103.4% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 104.0% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 104.7% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 104.1% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 104.2% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 107.3% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 103.4% | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 101.6% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 100.4% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 101.1% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 101.3% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 101.7% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 102.4% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 101.8% | -0.6% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 101.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 101.1%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 101.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 100.4%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | +30.2% | 80.8% | 105.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 90.6% | 82.0% | 100.4% | 5 |
| 1980s | 84.7% | 79.1% | 105.3% | 6 |
| 1990s | 100.8% | 97.4% | 104.7% | 7 |
| 2000s | 97.9% | 92.6% | 102.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 103.4% | 100.4% | 107.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 101.8% | 101.3% | 102.4% | 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 primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in South Africa?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in South Africa was 101.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 107.3% in 2015.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.1% in 1986.
- How does South Africa rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- South Africa ranks 95th out of 217 countries with data for 2023.
- Is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in primary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official primary school age.