What is compulsory education, duration in South Africa?

Compulsory education, duration in South Africa was 9 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.

What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.

How does South Africa rank for compulsory education, duration?

South Africa ranks 115th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.

Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Where does this South Africa data come from?

The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Compulsory education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Compulsory education, duration in South Africa

Name: Compulsory education, duration in South Africa
Creator: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

South Africa: Compulsory education, duration was 9 years in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)

9 years

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

115th

of 197 countries

All-time high

9 years

in 1998

All-time low

9 years

in 1998

Years of data

1998–2025

Compulsory education, duration in South Africa, 1998–2025

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 9 years for compulsory education, duration in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in South Africa peaked at 9 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 9 years, in 1998.

That places South Africa 115th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1990s	9 years	9 years	9 years	2
2000s	9 years	9 years	9 years	10
2010s	9 years	9 years	9 years	10
2020s	9 years	9 years	9 years	6

Countries ranked near South Africa

115 Afghanistan 9 years compare
115 Albania 9 years compare
115 Azerbaijan 9 years compare
115 Bahrain 9 years compare
115 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9 years compare
115 Brunei 9 years compare
115 China 9 years compare
115 Cuba 9 years compare
115 Estonia 9 years compare
115 Gambia 9 years compare
115 Georgia 9 years compare
115 Guinea-Bissau 9 years compare
115 Hong Kong 9 years compare
115 Indonesia 9 years compare
115 Iran 9 years compare
115 Japan 9 years compare
115 Kazakhstan 9 years compare
115 Kiribati 9 years compare
115 South Korea 9 years compare
115 Kuwait 9 years compare
115 Laos 9 years compare
115 Libya 9 years compare
115 Liechtenstein 9 years compare
115 Mali 9 years compare
115 Mauritania 9 years compare
115 Montenegro 9 years compare
115 Morocco 9 years compare
115 Nepal 9 years compare
115 Nigeria 9 years compare
115 Poland 9 years compare
115 Saudi Arabia 9 years compare
115 Sierra Leone 9 years compare
115 Slovenia 9 years compare
115 Syria 9 years compare
115 Tajikistan 9 years compare
115 Thailand 9 years compare
115 East Timor 9 years compare
115 Tunisia 9 years compare
115 Tuvalu 9 years compare
115 Yemen 9 years compare

See the full ranking of 243 places →

More education data for South Africa

Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
Population ages 0-14 25.7% (2025)
Population ages 15-64 67.4% (2025)
School enrollment, primary 101.8% (2023)
Primary education, teachers 287,310 (2023)
School enrollment, primary, female 99.2% (2023)
School enrollment, primary, male 104.3% (2023)
Labor force, female 46.6% (2025)
Labor force, total 26.73 million (2025)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is compulsory education, duration in South Africa?: Compulsory education, duration in South Africa was 9 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.
What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.
How does South Africa rank for compulsory education, duration?: South Africa ranks 115th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South Africa data come from?: The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Compulsory education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator: Compulsory education, duration (years)
Unit: years
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 243 places, 6,506 data points, 1975–2025
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Duration of compulsory education is the number of years that children are legally obliged to attend school.