Productivity vs educational attainment in South Africa
South Africa: Productivity vs educational attainment was 19.42 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
19.42
Change on year
down 5.8%
World rank
74th
of 130 countries
All-time high
23.37
in 2010
All-time low
15.98
in 2001
Years of data
22
2001–2023
Productivity vs educational attainment in South Africa, 2001–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 19.42 for productivity vs educational attainment in 2023.
That represents a change of down 5.8% on the previous year and down 15.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, productivity vs educational attainment in South Africa peaked at 23.37 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 15.98, in 2001.
That places South Africa 74th out of 130 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Productivity vs educational attainment in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 15.98 | — |
| 2002 | 17.39 | +8.8% |
| 2003 | 19.34 | +11.2% |
| 2004 | 19.89 | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 21.26 | +6.9% |
| 2006 | 20.62 | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 21.51 | +4.3% |
| 2008 | 21.46 | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 21.84 | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 23.37 | +7.0% |
| 2011 | 23.09 | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 23.28 | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 22.9 | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 22.89 | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 21.92 | -4.2% |
| 2017 | 22.14 | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 20.91 | -5.6% |
| 2019 | 20.57 | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 21.73 | +5.6% |
| 2021 | 21.63 | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 20.61 | -4.7% |
| 2023 | 19.42 | -5.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 19.42 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 20.42, 95% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 19.42 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.57, 4.3× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.92 | 15.98 | 21.84 | 9 |
| 2010s | 22.34 | 20.57 | 23.37 | 9 |
| 2020s | 20.85 | 19.42 | 21.73 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 94.05 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 93.94 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is productivity vs educational attainment in South Africa?
- Productivity vs educational attainment in South Africa was 19.42 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest productivity vs educational attainment recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 23.37 in 2010.
- What is the lowest productivity vs educational attainment recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.98 in 2001.
- How does South Africa rank for productivity vs educational attainment?
- South Africa ranks 74th out of 130 countries with data for 2023.
- Is productivity vs educational attainment rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Productivity vs educational attainment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).