School age population, early childhood educational development in South Africa
South Africa: School age population, early childhood educational development was 3.48 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
3.48 million
Change on year
down 2.1%
World rank
8th
of 104 countries
All-time high
3.60 million
in 2022
All-time low
2.23 million
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
School age population, early childhood educational development in South Africa, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, early childhood educational development in South Africa is 3.48 million, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, early childhood educational development in South Africa peaked at 3.60 million in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2.23 million, in 1998.
South Africa ranks 8th of 104 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 educational development in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 2.23 million | — |
| 1999 | 3.13 million | +40.2% |
| 2000 | 3.05 million | -2.5% |
| 2001 | 2.98 million | -2.4% |
| 2002 | 2.93 million | -1.8% |
| 2003 | 2.87 million | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 2.89 million | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 2.96 million | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 3.07 million | +3.9% |
| 2007 | 3.19 million | +3.8% |
| 2008 | 3.27 million | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 3.39 million | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 3.43 million | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 3.44 million | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 3.39 million | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 3.39 million | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 3.40 million | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 3.46 million | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 3.50 million | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 3.45 million | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 3.35 million | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 3.33 million | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 3.39 million | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 3.48 million | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 3.60 million | +3.4% |
| 2023 | 3.59 million | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 3.56 million | -1.0% |
| 2025 | 3.48 million | -2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.68 million | 2.23 million | 3.13 million | 2 |
| 2000s | 3.06 million | 2.87 million | 3.39 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.41 million | 3.33 million | 3.50 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.52 million | 3.39 million | 3.60 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.68 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 2.97 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 818,404 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 3.28 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.19 million (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) -2.55 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 225,583 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 61,727 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 748,573 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) -1.43 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, early childhood educational development in South Africa?
- School age population, early childhood educational development in South Africa was 3.48 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, early childhood educational development recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.60 million in 2022.
- What is the lowest school age population, early childhood educational development recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.23 million in 1998.
- How does South Africa rank for school age population, early childhood educational development?
- South Africa ranks 8th out of 104 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, early childhood educational development rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. 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 educational development programmes, both sexes (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