School life expectancy, pre-primary, female in South Africa
South Africa: School life expectancy, pre-primary, female was 0.7777 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, pre-primary, female in South Africa, 1994–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.7777 years for school life expectancy, pre-primary, female in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, pre-primary, female in South Africa peaked at 0.7888 years in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.1913 years, in 1999.
That places South Africa 171st out of 205 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
School life expectancy, pre-primary, female in South Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 0.254 years | — |
| 1996 | 0.3035 years | +19.5% |
| 1998 | 0.225 years | -25.9% |
| 1999 | 0.1913 years | -15.0% |
| 2000 | 0.2996 years | +56.6% |
| 2001 | 0.342 years | +14.1% |
| 2002 | 0.3038 years | -11.2% |
| 2003 | 0.3406 years | +12.1% |
| 2004 | 0.3959 years | +16.3% |
| 2005 | 0.4562 years | +15.2% |
| 2012 | 0.7517 years | +64.8% |
| 2015 | 0.7888 years | +4.9% |
| 2016 | 0.7648 years | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 0.7723 years | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 0.751 years | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 0.7635 years | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 0.7635 years | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.7553 years | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 0.7684 years | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 0.7777 years | +1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.2434 years | 0.1913 years | 0.3035 years | 4 |
| 2000s | 0.3564 years | 0.2996 years | 0.4562 years | 6 |
| 2010s | 0.7654 years | 0.751 years | 0.7888 years | 6 |
| 2020s | 0.7662 years | 0.7553 years | 0.7777 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2023)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 287,310 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 25.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, pre-primary, female in South Africa?
- School life expectancy, pre-primary, female in South Africa was 0.7777 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, pre-primary, female recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7888 years in 2015.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, pre-primary, female recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1913 years in 1999.
- How does South Africa rank for school life expectancy, pre-primary, female?
- South Africa ranks 171st out of 205 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, pre-primary, female rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. 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 life expectancy, pre-primary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release