School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender in South Africa
South Africa: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender was 0.9537 GPIA in 2023. ▬ Flat
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender in South Africa is 0.9537 GPIA, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender in South Africa peaked at 1 GPIA in 1999 and was at its lowest, 0.9537 GPIA, in 2023.
That places South Africa 176th out of 200 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 1 GPIA | — |
| 1999 | 1 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 0.9874 GPIA | -1.7% |
| 2001 | 1 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 1 GPIA | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.9998 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 0.9975 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.9942 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 0.9887 GPIA | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 0.9871 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 0.9866 GPIA | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.9896 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 0.9865 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.9818 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 0.9791 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 0.9605 GPIA | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 0.9968 GPIA | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 0.9856 GPIA | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 0.9781 GPIA | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 0.9708 GPIA | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 0.9612 GPIA | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 0.959 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 0.9548 GPIA | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 0.9537 GPIA | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1 GPIA | 1 GPIA | 1 GPIA | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.9933 GPIA | 0.9866 GPIA | 1 GPIA | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9799 GPIA | 0.9605 GPIA | 0.9968 GPIA | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.9572 GPIA | 0.9537 GPIA | 0.9612 GPIA | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender in South Africa?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender in South Africa was 0.9537 GPIA in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1 GPIA in 1999.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9537 GPIA in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender?
- South Africa ranks 176th out of 200 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release