Survival rate to Grade 5 of primary education, female in South Africa
South Africa: Survival rate to Grade 5 of primary education, female was 97.8% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Survival rate to Grade 5 of primary education, female in South Africa, 1990–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, survival rate to grade 5 of primary education, female in South Africa stood at 97.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, survival rate to grade 5 of primary education, female in South Africa peaked at 99.7% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 64.3%, in 1999.
South Africa ranks 41st of 149 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 5 of primary education, female in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 78.7% | — |
| 1998 | 80.2% | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 64.3% | -19.9% |
| 2001 | 89.2% | +38.9% |
| 2002 | 86.7% | -2.8% |
| 2003 | 83.4% | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 92.8% | +11.2% |
| 2017 | 94.4% | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 99.7% | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 95.6% | -4.0% |
| 2020 | 97.7% | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 97.8% | +0.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 97.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 95.5%, 1.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 97.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 77.0%, 1.3× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 74.4% | 64.3% | 80.2% | 3 |
| 2000s | 86.5% | 83.4% | 89.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 95.6% | 92.8% | 99.7% | 4 |
| 2020s | 97.8% | 97.7% | 97.8% | 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 5 of primary education, female in South Africa?
- Survival rate to grade 5 of primary education, female in South Africa was 97.8% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest survival rate to grade 5 of primary education, female recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 99.7% in 2018.
- What is the lowest survival rate to grade 5 of primary education, female recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 64.3% in 1999.
- How does South Africa rank for survival rate to grade 5 of primary education, female?
- South Africa ranks 41st out of 149 countries with data for 2022.
- Is survival rate to grade 5 of primary education, female rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.4%. 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 5 of primary education, female (%). 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