Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in South Africa
South Africa: Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general was 95.3% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Latest (2023)
95.3%
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
80th
of 217 countries
All-time high
98.3%
in 1991
All-time low
92.2%
in 2016
Years of data
29
1989–2023
Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in South Africa, 1989–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in South Africa stood at 95.3%.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in South Africa peaked at 98.3% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 92.2%, in 2016.
That places South Africa 80th out of 217 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 97.9% | — |
| 1990 | 98.0% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 98.3% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 98.3% | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 95.5% | -2.8% |
| 1999 | 95.5% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 94.2% | -1.4% |
| 2001 | 93.7% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 93.0% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 92.8% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 92.6% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 93.9% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 93.7% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 93.3% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 93.2% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 93.3% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 94.8% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 94.8% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 94.1% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 92.3% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 92.8% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 92.2% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 92.5% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 92.3% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 92.9% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 94.7% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 94.7% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 95.8% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 95.3% | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 97.9% | 97.9% | 97.9% | 1 |
| 1990s | 97.1% | 95.5% | 98.3% | 5 |
| 2000s | 93.4% | 92.6% | 94.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 93.2% | 92.2% | 94.8% | 9 |
| 2020s | 95.1% | 94.7% | 95.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
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 share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in South Africa?
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general in South Africa was 95.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 98.3% in 1991.
- What is the lowest share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 92.2% in 2016.
- How does South Africa rank for share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general?
- South Africa ranks 80th out of 217 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general programmes, male (%). 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