Education in South Africa 146 indicators covering education for South Africa. IndicatorLatest Year10-yr change Rank Population ages 15-64 67.4% 2025 up 1.6% 55th Population ages 0-14 25.7% 2025 down 9.1% 91st Lower secondary school starting age 14 years 2025 unchanged 1st Primary school starting age 7 years 2025 unchanged 1st School enrollment, primary 101.8% 2023 down 2.2% 88th Primary education, teachers 287,310 2023 up 30.3% 22nd School enrollment, primary, female 99.2% 2023 down 3.2% 108th School enrollment, primary, male 104.3% 2023 down 1.2% 67th Labor force, total 26.73 million 2025 up 20.4% 26th Labor force, female 46.6% 2025 up 1.8% 75th School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index 0.9596 GPI 2020 down 0.2% 162nd School enrollment, secondary 104.1% 2023 up 13.0% 46th Probability of dying among youth ages 20-24 years 11.6 per 1,000 2024 down 24.7% 27th Probability of dying among adolescents ages 15-19 years 7.1 per 1,000 2024 down 7.8% 32nd Probability of dying among adolescents ages 10-14 years 3 per 1,000 2024 down 21.1% 46th Probability of dying among children ages 5-9 years 2.4 per 1,000 2024 down 41.5% 57th Secondary education, teachers 181,739 2023 down 4.4% 38th School enrollment, secondary, female 107.5% 2023 up 12.6% 34th School enrollment, secondary, male 100.8% 2023 up 13.3% 57th School enrollment, tertiary 23.5% 2023 up 26.3% 125th School enrollment, primary, private 5.8% 2023 up 50.8% 142nd School enrollment, preprimary 17.5% 2020 down 5.2% 172nd School enrollment, tertiary, male 17.3% 2023 up 12.4% 131st School enrollment, tertiary, female 29.8% 2023 up 36.2% 122nd School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index 1.09 GPI 2020 up 2.6% 36th School enrollment, tertiary (gross), gender parity index 1.42 GPI 2023 up 9.5% 26th Secondary education, teachers, female 109,909 2023 down 0.5% 34th Primary completion rate, female 94.5% 2023 up 3.7% 102nd Primary completion rate, male 96.2% 2023 up 5.0% 80th Government expenditure on education, total 6.0% 2024 up 9.7% 27th Secondary education, general pupils 4.70 million 2017 up 3.2% 21st Lower secondary completion rate, total 88.3% 2023 up 9.7% 96th School enrollment, preprimary, female 17.7% 2020 down 4.9% 170th School enrollment, preprimary, male 17.4% 2020 down 5.4% 169th Persistence to last grade of primary, total 95.4% 2022 up 19.7% 68th Government expenditure on education, total 19.1% 2025 up 2.4% 26th Secondary education, general pupils 51.9% 2017 up 0.7% 30th Lower secondary completion rate, female 91.4% 2023 up 8.6% 91st Lower secondary completion rate, male 85.2% 2023 up 10.7% 99th Children out of school 6.1% 2023 up 23.4% 74th Secondary education, duration 5 years 2025 unchanged 183rd Primary education, duration 7 years 2025 unchanged 3rd Primary education, pupils 7.52 million 2023 up 6.5% 21st Secondary education, pupils 5.50 million 2023 up 13.5% 23rd Persistence to last grade of primary, female 96.8% 2022 up 7.2% 55th Persistence to last grade of primary, male 94.0% 2022 up 33.2% 69th Secondary education, vocational pupils 355,438 2017 up 33.3% 32nd Number of under-five deaths, male 22,681 2024 down 12.2% 28th Number of under-five deaths, female 18,754 2024 down 13.0% 28th Number of infant deaths, female 12,865 2024 down 23.1% 29th Number of infant deaths, male 15,705 2024 down 21.6% 31st Children out of school, female 5.9% 2023 up 64.7% 78th Children out of school, male 6.2% 2023 down 30.3% 80th Secondary education, vocational pupils 48.5% 2017 up 18.9% 40th Gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, total 103.7% 2017 down 13.9% 79th Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) 31.0% 2025 up 33.7% 2nd Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) 34.0% 2025 up 23.7% 4th Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) 32.4% 2025 up 28.8% 2nd Primary education, teachers 78.5% 2023 down 0.5% 93rd Repeaters, primary, total 8.8% 2016 up 10.4% 36th Page 1 of 3 Next →