School life expectancy, tertiary, female in South Africa
South Africa: School life expectancy, tertiary, female was 1.48 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, tertiary, female in South Africa, 1988–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1.48 years for school life expectancy, tertiary, female in 2018. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 5.9% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, female in South Africa peaked at 1.48 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.5266 years, in 1988.
That places South Africa 105th out of 177 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
School life expectancy, tertiary, female in South Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 0.5266 years | — |
| 1989 | 0.5727 years | +8.7% |
| 1990 | 0.5596 years | -2.3% |
| 1991 | 0.592 years | +5.8% |
| 1992 | 0.6126 years | +3.5% |
| 1993 | 0.6683 years | +9.1% |
| 1994 | 0.7575 years | +13.4% |
| 2012 | 1.31 years | +73.1% |
| 2013 | 1.34 years | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 1.3 years | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 1.32 years | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 1.4 years | +5.8% |
| 2018 | 1.48 years | +5.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.5496 years | 0.5266 years | 0.5727 years | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.638 years | 0.5596 years | 0.7575 years | 5 |
| 2010s | 1.36 years | 1.3 years | 1.48 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 102 Viet Nam 1.59 years compare
- 103 India 1.51 years compare
- 104 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1.49 years compare
- 106 Guatemala 1.41 years compare
- 107 Tajikistan 1.4 years compare
- 108 Cape Verde 1.37 years compare
More education data for South Africa
- 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)
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 101.77 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 101.8% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, female in South Africa?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, female in South Africa was 1.48 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, female recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.48 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, female recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5266 years in 1988.
- How does South Africa rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, female?
- South Africa ranks 105th out of 177 countries with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, female rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. 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, tertiary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
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.