Start month of the academic school year in South Africa
South Africa: Start month of the academic school year was 1 tertiary education in 2023. ▬ Flat
Latest (2023)
1 tertiary education
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
176th
of 211 countries
All-time high
1 tertiary education
in 1997
All-time low
1 tertiary education
in 1997
Years of data
26
1997–2023
Start month of the academic school year in South Africa, 1997–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in tertiary education.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1 tertiary education for start month of the academic school year in 2023. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, start month of the academic school year in South Africa peaked at 1 tertiary education in 1997 and was at its lowest, 1 tertiary education, in 1997.
That places South Africa 176th out of 211 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Start month of the academic school year in South Africa, year by year
| Year | tertiary education | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1 tertiary education | — |
| 1998 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 tertiary education | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1 tertiary education | 1 tertiary education | 1 tertiary education | 3 |
| 2000s | 1 tertiary education | 1 tertiary education | 1 tertiary education | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 tertiary education | 1 tertiary education | 1 tertiary education | 9 |
| 2020s | 1 tertiary education | 1 tertiary education | 1 tertiary education | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 176 Australia 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Cook Islands 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Colombia 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Costa Rica 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Dominican Republic 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Ecuador 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Guatemala 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Honduras 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Iraq 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Kenya 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Cambodia 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Kiribati 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Lebanon 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Sri Lanka 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Maldives 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Montenegro 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Malaysia 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Namibia 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Nicaragua 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Niue 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Naoero 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 New Zealand 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Papua New Guinea 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Paraguay 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Palestine, State of 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Solomon Islands 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 El Salvador 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Eswatini 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Seychelles 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Tokelau 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Timor-Leste 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Tonga 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Samoa 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Zambia 1 tertiary education compare
- 176 Zimbabwe 1 tertiary education 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 start month of the academic school year in South Africa?
- Start month of the academic school year in South Africa was 1 tertiary education in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest start month of the academic school year recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1 tertiary education in 1997.
- What is the lowest start month of the academic school year recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 tertiary education in 1997.
- How does South Africa rank for start month of the academic school year?
- South Africa ranks 176th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
- Is start month of the academic school year rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. 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 Start month of the academic school year (tertiary education). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release