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 4.7% 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
South Africa recorded 4.7% for share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.7% on the previous year and down 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in South Africa peaked at 7.8% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1991.
That places South Africa 147th out of 213 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 | 2.1% | — |
| 1990 | 2.0% | -4.7% |
| 1991 | 1.7% | -16.1% |
| 1994 | 1.7% | +2.2% |
| 1998 | 4.5% | +163.8% |
| 1999 | 4.5% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 5.8% | +29.8% |
| 2001 | 6.3% | +8.1% |
| 2002 | 7.0% | +10.8% |
| 2003 | 7.2% | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 7.4% | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 6.1% | -17.8% |
| 2006 | 6.3% | +3.7% |
| 2007 | 6.7% | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 6.8% | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 6.7% | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 5.2% | -22.5% |
| 2011 | 5.2% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 5.9% | +12.3% |
| 2014 | 7.7% | +31.0% |
| 2015 | 7.2% | -6.3% |
| 2016 | 7.8% | +8.5% |
| 2017 | 7.5% | -4.1% |
| 2018 | 7.7% | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 7.1% | -8.0% |
| 2020 | 5.3% | -24.5% |
| 2021 | 5.3% | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 4.2% | -19.5% |
| 2023 | 4.7% | +10.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 2.9% | 1.7% | 4.5% | 5 |
| 2000s | 6.6% | 5.8% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.8% | 5.2% | 7.8% | 9 |
| 2020s | 4.9% | 4.2% | 5.3% | 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 vocational in South Africa?
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational in South Africa was 4.7% 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 7.8% 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 1.7% in 1991.
- How does South Africa rank for share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational?
- South Africa ranks 147th out of 213 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 down 20.0%. 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, 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