School life expectancy, tertiary, male (years) (male years) in South Africa
South Africa: School life expectancy, tertiary, male (years) (male years) was 0.8901 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
0.8901 years
Change on year
down 4.5%
World rank
133rd
of 191 countries
All-time high
0.995 years
in 2018
All-time low
0.5606 years
in 1988
Years of data
28
1988–2023
School life expectancy, tertiary, male in South Africa, 1988–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.8901 years for school life expectancy, tertiary, male in 2023.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, male in South Africa peaked at 0.995 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.5606 years, in 1988.
That places South Africa 133rd out of 191 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
School life expectancy, tertiary, male (years) (male years) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 0.5606 years | — |
| 1989 | 0.5982 years | +6.7% |
| 1990 | 0.6192 years | +3.5% |
| 1991 | 0.6258 years | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 0.6432 years | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 0.7255 years | +12.8% |
| 1994 | 0.7767 years | +7.1% |
| 2002 | 0.8279 years | +6.6% |
| 2003 | 0.8469 years | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 0.8434 years | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 0.7981 years | -5.4% |
| 2006 | 0.7576 years | -5.1% |
| 2007 | 0.7688 years | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 0.7959 years | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 0.8307 years | +4.4% |
| 2011 | 0.8495 years | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 0.932 years | +9.7% |
| 2013 | 0.9437 years | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 0.907 years | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 0.9179 years | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 0.896 years | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 0.9673 years | +8.0% |
| 2018 | 0.995 years | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 0.9676 years | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 0.9369 years | -3.2% |
| 2021 | 0.8984 years | -4.1% |
| 2022 | 0.9321 years | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 0.8901 years | -4.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.8901 years is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.14 years, 42% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.8901 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6 years, 1.5× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.5794 years | 0.5606 years | 0.5982 years | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.6781 years | 0.6192 years | 0.7767 years | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.8055 years | 0.7576 years | 0.8469 years | 7 |
| 2010s | 0.9207 years | 0.8307 years | 0.995 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9144 years | 0.8901 years | 0.9369 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 130 Cape Verde 0.9112 years compare
- 131 Cameroon 0.9055 years compare
- 132 Belize 0.9054 years compare
- 134 United States Virgin Islands 0.8888 years compare
- 135 Luxembourg 0.864 years compare
- 136 Myanmar 0.838 years compare
More education data for South Africa
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 181,739 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, male in South Africa?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, male in South Africa was 0.8901 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, male recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.995 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, male recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5606 years in 1988.
- How does South Africa rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, male?
- South Africa ranks 133rd out of 191 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, male rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. 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, male (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release