School age population, early childhood education, female in South Africa
South Africa: School age population, early childhood education, female was 4.07 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
School age population, early childhood education, female in South Africa, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, early childhood education, female in South Africa is 4.07 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, early childhood education, female in South Africa peaked at 4.07 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.66 million, in 1998.
South Africa ranks 12th of 207 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
School age population, early childhood education, female in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 1.66 million | — |
| 1999 | 3.69 million | +122.5% |
| 2000 | 3.63 million | -1.7% |
| 2001 | 3.54 million | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 3.48 million | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 3.40 million | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 3.35 million | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 3.35 million | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 3.37 million | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 3.42 million | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 3.49 million | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 3.60 million | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 3.69 million | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 3.76 million | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 3.82 million | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 3.86 million | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 3.87 million | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 3.91 million | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 3.92 million | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 3.89 million | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 3.85 million | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 3.82 million | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 3.81 million | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 3.84 million | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 3.92 million | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 3.97 million | +1.5% |
| 2024 | 4.02 million | +1.2% |
| 2025 | 4.07 million | +1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.67 million | 1.66 million | 3.69 million | 2 |
| 2000s | 3.46 million | 3.35 million | 3.63 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.84 million | 3.69 million | 3.92 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.94 million | 3.81 million | 4.07 million | 6 |
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 school age population, early childhood education, female in South Africa?
- School age population, early childhood education, female in South Africa was 4.07 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, early childhood education, female recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.07 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, early childhood education, female recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.66 million in 1998.
- How does South Africa rank for school age population, early childhood education, female?
- South Africa ranks 12th out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, early childhood education, female rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. 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 School age population, early childhood education, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release