Proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa
South Africa: Proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 was 0.432 GPIA in 2023. ▼ Falling
Proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.432 GPIA for proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in 2023.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 59.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa peaked at 1.05 GPIA in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.4288 GPIA, in 2022.
That places South Africa 176th out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0.6987 GPIA | — |
| 1999 | 0.6789 GPIA | -2.8% |
| 2000 | 0.6567 GPIA | -3.3% |
| 2001 | 0.656 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 0.6389 GPIA | -2.6% |
| 2003 | 0.6317 GPIA | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 0.6294 GPIA | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 1.05 GPIA | +67.5% |
| 2016 | 0.4973 GPIA | -52.8% |
| 2017 | 0.5583 GPIA | +12.3% |
| 2018 | 0.4524 GPIA | -19.0% |
| 2019 | 0.4308 GPIA | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 0.4368 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 0.4342 GPIA | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 0.4288 GPIA | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 0.432 GPIA | +0.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.432 GPIA is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.727 GPIA, 59% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.432 GPIA is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9224 GPIA, 47% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +67.5% | 0.6294 GPIA | 1.05 GPIA |
| 2016 | -52.8% | 1.05 GPIA | 0.4973 GPIA |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.6888 GPIA | 0.6789 GPIA | 0.6987 GPIA | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.6425 GPIA | 0.6294 GPIA | 0.6567 GPIA | 5 |
| 2010s | 0.5987 GPIA | 0.4308 GPIA | 1.05 GPIA | 5 |
| 2020s | 0.4329 GPIA | 0.4288 GPIA | 0.4368 GPIA | 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 pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa?
- Proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in South Africa was 0.432 GPIA in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.05 GPIA in 2015.
- What is the lowest proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4288 GPIA in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2?
- South Africa ranks 176th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 59.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Proportion of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 years over-age for their current grade, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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