Years of schooling in South Africa
South Africa: Years of schooling was 11.61 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
11.61
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
51st
of 192 countries
All-time high
11.61
in 2021
All-time low
6.7
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in South Africa, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 11.61 for years of schooling in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 15.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, years of schooling in South Africa peaked at 11.61 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 6.7, in 1990.
That places South Africa 51st out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Years of schooling in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 6.7 | — |
| 1991 | 7.06 | +5.3% |
| 1992 | 7.41 | +5.1% |
| 1993 | 7.77 | +4.8% |
| 1994 | 8.13 | +4.6% |
| 1995 | 8.49 | +4.4% |
| 1996 | 8.28 | -2.4% |
| 1997 | 8.08 | -2.5% |
| 1998 | 7.87 | -2.5% |
| 1999 | 7.67 | -2.6% |
| 2000 | 7.46 | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 7.67 | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 8.52 | +11.1% |
| 2003 | 8.76 | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 8.82 | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 8.9 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 8.95 | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 9.08 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 9.22 | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 9.6 | +4.1% |
| 2010 | 9.67 | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 9.69 | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 9.93 | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 10.04 | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 10.15 | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 10.23 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 10.19 | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 10.14 | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 10.76 | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 11.37 | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 10.55 | -7.2% |
| 2021 | 11.61 | +10.0% |
| 2022 | 11.61 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 11.61 | +0.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 11.61 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10.11, 1.1× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 11.61 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.96, 1.9× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.75 | 6.7 | 8.49 | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.7 | 7.46 | 9.6 | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.22 | 9.67 | 11.37 | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.35 | 10.55 | 11.61 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 48 Antigua and Barbuda 11.65 compare
- 49 Serbia 11.64 compare
- 50 Marshall Islands 11.64 compare
- 51 Andorra 11.61 compare
- 53 Saudi Arabia 11.61 compare
- 54 Greece 11.55 compare
More education data for South Africa
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 94.05 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 93.94 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is years of schooling in South Africa?
- Years of schooling in South Africa was 11.61 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11.61 in 2021.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.7 in 1990.
- How does South Africa rank for years of schooling?
- South Africa ranks 51st out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).