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Education · Sub-Saharan Africa · Upper-middle income
South Africa: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 17.5% (2020), 159th of 176 in the world and 26th of 39 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Primary enrolment is 101.8% (2023), 79th of 191 in the world and 17th of 41 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Primary completion is 95.3% (2023), 80th of 168 in the world and 5th of 36 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Pre-primary enrolment
South AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaUpper-middle incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
South AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaUpper-middle incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: South Africa in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Sub-Saharan Africa; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 17.5%2020 | 159/176 | 26/39 | 5.2%1999 | 18.5% | 17.5% | −1.0 ppsince 2010 | 28.1% | 77.9% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 101.8%2023 | 79/191 | 17/41 | 92.6% | 103.4% | 101.3% | −2.3 ppsince 2013 | 97.1% | 100.7% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 95.3%2023 | 80/168 | 5/36 | 72.6% | · | 92.7% | +5.8 ppsince 2004 | 68.9% | 95.2% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 104.1%2023 | 46/176 | 3/34 | 74.3% | 86.6% | 103.5% | +12.0 ppsince 2012 | 45.9% | 96.5% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 88.3%2023 | 92/168 | 4/34 | 63.8% | · | 86.7% | +20.2 ppsince 2004 | 44.4% | 93.0% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 23.5%2023 | 123/172 | 4/34 | · | 17.9%2012 | 22.6% | +4.9 ppsince 2013 | 9.3% | 64.6% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 6.1%2023 | 66/178 | 26/38 | 17.8% | · | 8.1% | −7.0 ppsince 2005 | — | 4.0% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 91.2%2024 | 80/141 | 4/41 | · | 92.9% | 90.0%2021 | −3.0 ppsince 2014 | 68.7% | 96.2% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 97.2%2024 | 82/148 | 5/42 | · | 98.6% | 96.7%2021 | −1.7 ppsince 2014 | 79.0% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 30.32015 | 37/173 | 29/40 | 34.9 | 29.5 | · | −3.4%since 2005 | 37.4 | 18.4 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 6.0%2024 | 26/184 | 7/43 | 4.9% | 5.1% | 6.2% | +0.5 ppsince 2014 | 3.3% | 3.6% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 19.1%2025 | 25/179 | 10/42 | 0.0% | 18.0% | 19.7% | +0.4 ppsince 2015 | 15.4% | 15.1% | 14.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Primary completion+5.8 pp95.3% in 2023
- Secondary enrolment+12.0 pp104.1% in 2023
- Lower secondary completion+20.2 pp88.3% in 2023
- Tertiary enrolment+4.9 pp23.5% in 2023
Worse than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment−1.0 pp17.5% in 2020
- Adult literacy−3.0 pp91.2% in 2024
- Youth literacy−1.7 pp97.2% in 2024
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
South Africa and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with South Africa. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | South Africa | Mozambique | Zimbabwe | Namibia | Botswana | Lesotho |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 17.5%2020 | — | 74.3%2021 | 36.5%2021 | 21.4%2015 | 33.0%2019 |
| Primary enrolment | 101.8%2023 | 119.2%2022 | 93.1%2024 | 120.7%2024 | 109.3%2022 | 80.2%2024 |
| Primary completion | 95.3%2023 | 72.4%2022 | 86.0%2024 | 88.6%2024 | 101.5%2022 | 67.0%2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 104.1%2023 | 37.2%2017 | 52.4%2013 | 82.0%2024 | 70.6%2021 | 59.4%2017 |
| Lower secondary completion | 88.3%2023 | 26.1%2019 | 65.6%2024 | 71.9%2024 | 91.4%2022 | 45.0%2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 23.5%2023 | 7.5%2018 | 7.7%2024 | 26.1%2022 | 21.4%2024 | 9.9%2018 |
| Out-of-school children | 6.1%2023 | 1.0%2022 | 10.5%2024 | 0.9%2024 | 0.5%2022 | 32.2%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 91.2%2024 | 61.7%2022 | 93.2%2019 | 87.6%2023 | — | 90.4%2024 |
| Youth literacy | 97.2%2024 | 71.4%2022 | 92.5%2019 | 92.1%2023 | — | 96.5%2024 |