Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Africa
South Africa: Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in was 91.8% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Latest (2023)
91.8%
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
64th
of 188 countries
All-time high
92.6%
in 2022
All-time low
86.8%
in 2002
Years of data
24
1998–2023
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 91.8% for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and up 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Africa peaked at 92.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 86.8%, in 2002.
South Africa ranks 64th of 188 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 91.6% | — |
| 1999 | 91.5% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 88.9% | -2.8% |
| 2001 | 88.0% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 86.8% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 87.4% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 87.1% | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 89.2% | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 89.0% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 88.8% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 88.6% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 88.4% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 90.7% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 90.6% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 89.5% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 88.4% | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 87.2% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 87.5% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 86.9% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 87.8% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 90.5% | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 90.8% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 92.6% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 91.8% | -0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 91.6% | 91.5% | 91.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 88.2% | 86.8% | 89.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 88.6% | 86.9% | 90.7% | 8 |
| 2020s | 91.4% | 90.5% | 92.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -1.44 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Africa?
- Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Africa was 91.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 92.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 86.8% in 2002.
- How does South Africa rank for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in?
- South Africa ranks 64th out of 188 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. 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 upper secondary education enrolled in general programmes, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release