Proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education in South Africa
South Africa: Proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education was 3.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education in South Africa, 1994–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education in South Africa stood at 3.3%.
That represents a change of up 15.9% on the previous year and up 41.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education in South Africa peaked at 4.5% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1994.
South Africa ranks 107th of 181 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 0.7% | — |
| 1999 | 1.6% | +126.0% |
| 2000 | 1.9% | +24.5% |
| 2001 | 2.1% | +8.3% |
| 2002 | 2.3% | +9.5% |
| 2003 | 2.4% | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 2.4% | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 2.0% | -18.4% |
| 2015 | 2.4% | +19.7% |
| 2017 | 4.5% | +92.9% |
| 2018 | 4.3% | -4.4% |
| 2019 | 4.4% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 2.9% | -32.5% |
| 2021 | 3.4% | +14.6% |
| 2022 | 2.9% | -14.9% |
| 2023 | 3.3% | +15.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 3.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5.8%, 57% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 3.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.5%, 2.3× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +126.0% | 0.7% | 1.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 2.2% | 1.9% | 2.4% | 6 |
| 2010s | 3.9% | 2.4% | 4.5% | 4 |
| 2020s | 3.1% | 2.9% | 3.4% | 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 proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education in South Africa?
- Proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education in South Africa was 3.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.5% in 2017.
- What is the lowest proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1994.
- How does South Africa rank for proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education?
- South Africa ranks 107th out of 181 countries with data for 2023.
- Is proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.0%. 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 Proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release