Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in South Africa
South Africa: Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational was 5.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in South Africa, 1989–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in South Africa is 5.2%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 7.5% on the previous year and up 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in South Africa peaked at 7.7% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 1991.
That places South Africa 132nd out of 216 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 1.6% | — |
| 1990 | 1.5% | -3.8% |
| 1991 | 1.2% | -17.3% |
| 1994 | 1.3% | +8.0% |
| 1998 | 3.8% | +182.3% |
| 1999 | 3.8% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 4.8% | +26.6% |
| 2001 | 5.2% | +8.7% |
| 2002 | 5.6% | +8.2% |
| 2003 | 5.8% | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 6.0% | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 4.9% | -18.8% |
| 2006 | 5.1% | +5.5% |
| 2007 | 5.5% | +7.7% |
| 2008 | 5.7% | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 5.7% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 4.7% | -19.0% |
| 2011 | 4.7% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 5.1% | +9.2% |
| 2014 | 7.0% | +36.6% |
| 2015 | 7.1% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 7.7% | +7.9% |
| 2017 | 7.2% | -5.9% |
| 2018 | 7.2% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 7.0% | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 5.6% | -19.7% |
| 2021 | 5.8% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 4.9% | -15.1% |
| 2023 | 5.2% | +7.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1 |
| 1990s | 2.3% | 1.2% | 3.8% | 5 |
| 2000s | 5.4% | 4.8% | 6.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.4% | 4.7% | 7.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 5.4% | 4.9% | 5.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 129 Russian Federation 5.3% compare
- 130 Guyana 5.3% compare
- 131 Bahrain 5.3% compare
- 133 Burkina Faso 5.1% compare
- 134 Jordan 5.0% compare
- 135 United Arab Emirates 5.0% 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 share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in South Africa?
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in South Africa was 5.2% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7.7% in 2016.
- What is the lowest share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 1991.
- How does South Africa rank for share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational?
- South Africa ranks 132nd out of 216 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. 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 Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational programmes, both sexes (%). 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