Survival rate to Grade 4 of primary education, male in South Africa
South Africa: Survival rate to Grade 4 of primary education, male was 98.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Survival rate to Grade 4 of primary education, male in South Africa, 1990–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 98.3% for survival rate to grade 4 of primary education, male in 2022.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 11.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, survival rate to grade 4 of primary education, male in South Africa peaked at 99.2% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 70.9%, in 1999.
South Africa ranks 49th of 170 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Survival rate to Grade 4 of primary education, male in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 73.6% | — |
| 1998 | 81.3% | +10.5% |
| 1999 | 70.9% | -12.7% |
| 2001 | 86.2% | +21.6% |
| 2002 | 85.1% | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 84.1% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 88.0% | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 93.4% | +6.2% |
| 2018 | 95.9% | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 99.2% | +3.5% |
| 2020 | 97.7% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 98.3% | +0.7% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 98.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.7%, 1.0× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 98.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 79.2%, 1.2× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 75.3% | 70.9% | 81.3% | 3 |
| 2000s | 85.1% | 84.1% | 86.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 94.1% | 88.0% | 99.2% | 4 |
| 2020s | 98.0% | 97.7% | 98.3% | 2 |
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 survival rate to grade 4 of primary education, male in South Africa?
- Survival rate to grade 4 of primary education, male in South Africa was 98.3% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest survival rate to grade 4 of primary education, male recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 99.2% in 2019.
- What is the lowest survival rate to grade 4 of primary education, male recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 70.9% in 1999.
- How does South Africa rank for survival rate to grade 4 of primary education, male?
- South Africa ranks 49th out of 170 countries with data for 2022.
- Is survival rate to grade 4 of primary education, male rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.8%. 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 Survival rate to Grade 4 of primary education, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release