School life expectancy, primary, male in South Africa
South Africa: School life expectancy, primary, male was 7.3 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
7.3 years
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
24th
of 215 countries
All-time high
7.66 years
in 1994
All-time low
5.51 years
in 1986
Years of data
36
1970–2023
School life expectancy, primary, male in South Africa, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, school life expectancy, primary, male in South Africa stood at 7.3 years.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, male in South Africa peaked at 7.66 years in 1994 and was at its lowest, 5.51 years, in 1986.
That places South Africa 24th out of 215 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, male in South Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 7.44 years | — |
| 1986 | 5.51 years | -25.9% |
| 1987 | 5.61 years | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 5.64 years | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 7.3 years | +29.4% |
| 1990 | 7.26 years | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 7.52 years | +3.6% |
| 1994 | 7.66 years | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 7.45 years | -2.7% |
| 1997 | 6.9 years | -7.3% |
| 1998 | 6.97 years | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 6.93 years | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 6.6 years | -4.7% |
| 2001 | 6.61 years | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 6.73 years | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 6.82 years | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 6.92 years | +1.4% |
| 2005 | 6.92 years | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 6.98 years | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 7.14 years | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 7.23 years | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 7.25 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 7.33 years | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 7.37 years | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 7.43 years | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 7.39 years | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 7.39 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7.61 years | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 7.41 years | -2.6% |
| 2017 | 7.28 years | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 7.23 years | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 7.27 years | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 7.3 years | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 7.32 years | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 7.37 years | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 7.3 years | -1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.44 years | 7.44 years | 7.44 years | 1 |
| 1980s | 6.02 years | 5.51 years | 7.3 years | 4 |
| 1990s | 7.24 years | 6.9 years | 7.66 years | 7 |
| 2000s | 6.92 years | 6.6 years | 7.25 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.37 years | 7.23 years | 7.61 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.32 years | 7.3 years | 7.37 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 21 Uganda 7.4 years compare
- 22 Falkland Islands 7.36 years compare
- 23 Guinea-Bissau 7.34 years compare
- 25 Democratic Republic of Congo 7.25 years compare
- 26 Cameroon 7.19 years compare
- 27 East Timor 7.18 years compare
More education data for South Africa
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, male in South Africa?
- School life expectancy, primary, male in South Africa was 7.3 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, male recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7.66 years in 1994.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, male recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.51 years in 1986.
- How does South Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary, male?
- South Africa ranks 24th out of 215 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, male 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 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, male (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release