School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in South Africa

South Africa: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female was 11.93 years in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
11.93 years
Change on year
down 3.1%
World rank
81st
of 193 countries
All-time high
12.69 years
in 2014
All-time low
10.89 years
in 1989
Years of data
24
1989–2018

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in South Africa, 1989–2018

0510151989200320181989: 10.9 years1990: 11.1 years1991: 11.7 years1994: 12.3 years1998: 12.2 years1999: 12.1 years2000: 11.3 years2001: 11.4 years2002: 11.5 years2003: 11.6 years2004: 11.8 years2005: 11.8 years2006: 12 years2007: 12.2 years2008: 12.1 years2009: 12.1 years2010: 12 years2011: 12 years2012: 12.2 years2014: 12.7 years2015: 12.5 years2016: 12.6 years2017: 12.3 years2018: 11.9 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 11.93 years for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.1% on the previous year and down 1.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in South Africa peaked at 12.69 years in 2014 and was at its lowest, 10.89 years, in 1989.

South Africa ranks 81st of 193 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years) in South Africa, 1989 to 2018.
Year years Change
1989 10.89 years
1990 11.07 years +1.7%
1991 11.66 years +5.3%
1994 12.29 years +5.4%
1998 12.15 years -1.2%
1999 12.08 years -0.6%
2000 11.34 years -6.1%
2001 11.42 years +0.7%
2002 11.54 years +1.0%
2003 11.64 years +0.9%
2004 11.83 years +1.6%
2005 11.85 years +0.1%
2006 11.99 years +1.2%
2007 12.19 years +1.7%
2008 12.06 years -1.0%
2009 12.07 years +0.0%
2010 12.02 years -0.4%
2011 12.03 years +0.1%
2012 12.15 years +1.0%
2014 12.69 years +4.4%
2015 12.46 years -1.8%
2016 12.64 years +1.5%
2017 12.31 years -2.6%
2018 11.93 years -3.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 10.89 years 10.89 years 10.89 years 1
1990s 11.85 years 11.07 years 12.29 years 5
2000s 11.79 years 11.34 years 12.19 years 10
2010s 12.28 years 11.93 years 12.69 years 8

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 78 Peru 11.96 years compare
  2. 79 Bahrain 11.95 years compare
  3. 80 Aruba 11.93 years compare
  4. 82 Cyprus 11.88 years compare
  5. 83 Austria 11.85 years compare
  6. 84 Kazakhstan 11.85 years compare

See the full ranking of 238 places →

More education data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in South Africa?
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in South Africa was 11.93 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 12.69 years in 2014.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 10.89 years in 1989.
How does South Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female?
South Africa ranks 81st out of 193 countries with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. 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, primary and secondary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-and-secondary-female-years/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
238 places, 7,783 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.