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 0.9866 GPIA in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.9866 GPIA
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
166th
of 183 countries
All-time high
1.06 GPIA
in 2002
All-time low
0.9829 GPIA
in 2022
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 GPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Africa is 0.9866 GPIA, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Africa peaked at 1.06 GPIA in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.9829 GPIA, in 2022.
South Africa ranks 166th of 183 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 1.03 GPIA | — |
| 1999 | 1.03 GPIA | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 1.04 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 1.05 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 1.06 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 1.05 GPIA | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 1.05 GPIA | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 1.05 GPIA | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 1.05 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 1.04 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 1.04 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 1.04 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 1.02 GPIA | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 1.03 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 1.03 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 1 GPIA | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 1.02 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 1.02 GPIA | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 1.02 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 1.01 GPIA | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 0.9954 GPIA | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 0.9892 GPIA | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 0.9829 GPIA | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 0.9866 GPIA | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.03 GPIA | 1.03 GPIA | 1.03 GPIA | 2 |
| 2000s | 1.05 GPIA | 1.04 GPIA | 1.06 GPIA | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.02 GPIA | 1 GPIA | 1.03 GPIA | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.9885 GPIA | 0.9829 GPIA | 0.9954 GPIA | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 163 Kenya 0.9953 GPIA compare
- 164 Costa Rica 0.9921 GPIA compare
- 165 Sao Tome and Principe 0.9919 GPIA compare
- 167 British Virgin Islands 0.986 GPIA compare
- 168 Kuwait 0.9845 GPIA compare
- 169 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 0.982 GPIA compare
More education data for South Africa
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.68 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 2.97 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 818,404 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 3.28 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.19 million (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) -2.55 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 225,583 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 61,727 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 748,573 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) -1.43 % 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 0.9866 GPIA 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 1.06 GPIA in 2002.
- What is the lowest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9829 GPIA in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in?
- South Africa ranks 166th out of 183 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 down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). 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