School life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity in South Africa
South Africa: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity was 0.9966 GPIA in 2023. ▼ Falling
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity in South Africa, 1989–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
In 2023, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity in South Africa stood at 0.9966 GPIA.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity in South Africa peaked at 1.08 GPIA in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.965 GPIA, in 2015.
That places South Africa 121st out of 208 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 1.06 GPIA | — |
| 1990 | 1.07 GPIA | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 1.08 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 1.06 GPIA | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 1.04 GPIA | -2.2% |
| 1999 | 1.03 GPIA | -1.0% |
| 2000 | 1.01 GPIA | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 1.02 GPIA | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 1.02 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 1.02 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 1.02 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 1.02 GPIA | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.01 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 1.01 GPIA | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.01 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 1.01 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 1.01 GPIA | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.01 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 1.01 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.02 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 0.965 GPIA | -5.8% |
| 2016 | 1.03 GPIA | +6.9% |
| 2017 | 1.02 GPIA | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 1.01 GPIA | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 1 GPIA | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 1.01 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 1.01 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 1 GPIA | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 0.9966 GPIA | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.06 GPIA | 1.06 GPIA | 1.06 GPIA | 1 |
| 1990s | 1.06 GPIA | 1.03 GPIA | 1.08 GPIA | 5 |
| 2000s | 1.02 GPIA | 1.01 GPIA | 1.02 GPIA | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.01 GPIA | 0.965 GPIA | 1.03 GPIA | 9 |
| 2020s | 1 GPIA | 0.9966 GPIA | 1.01 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 secondary, adjusted gender parity in South Africa?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity in South Africa was 0.9966 GPIA in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.08 GPIA in 1991.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.965 GPIA in 2015.
- How does South Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity?
- South Africa ranks 121st out of 208 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 secondary, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release