School life expectancy, pre-primary, male (years) (expectancy male) in South Africa
South Africa: School life expectancy, pre-primary, male (years) (expectancy male) was 0.7794 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, pre-primary, male in South Africa, 1994–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, pre-primary, male in South Africa is 0.7794 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, pre-primary, male in South Africa peaked at 0.7794 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.1866 years, in 1999.
South Africa ranks 169th of 205 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
School life expectancy, pre-primary, male (years) (expectancy male) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 0.2496 years | — |
| 1996 | 0.2897 years | +16.1% |
| 1998 | 0.2232 years | -23.0% |
| 1999 | 0.1866 years | -16.4% |
| 2000 | 0.2924 years | +56.6% |
| 2001 | 0.3348 years | +14.5% |
| 2002 | 0.2918 years | -12.8% |
| 2003 | 0.3277 years | +12.3% |
| 2004 | 0.3816 years | +16.4% |
| 2005 | 0.4416 years | +15.7% |
| 2012 | 0.7355 years | +66.5% |
| 2015 | 0.7638 years | +3.9% |
| 2016 | 0.7591 years | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.7707 years | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 0.7433 years | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 0.758 years | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 0.7554 years | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 0.7553 years | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.7711 years | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 0.7794 years | +1.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.7794 years is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.79 years, 44% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.7794 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.7533 years, 1.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.2373 years | 0.1866 years | 0.2897 years | 4 |
| 2000s | 0.345 years | 0.2918 years | 0.4416 years | 6 |
| 2010s | 0.7551 years | 0.7355 years | 0.7707 years | 6 |
| 2020s | 0.7653 years | 0.7553 years | 0.7794 years | 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 school life expectancy, pre-primary, male in South Africa?
- School life expectancy, pre-primary, male in South Africa was 0.7794 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, pre-primary, male recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7794 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, pre-primary, male recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1866 years in 1999.
- How does South Africa rank for school life expectancy, pre-primary, male?
- South Africa ranks 169th out of 205 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, pre-primary, male rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. 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 life expectancy, pre-primary, male (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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