Secondary education, duration in South Africa
South Africa: Secondary education, duration was 5 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Secondary education, duration in South Africa, 1970–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for secondary education, duration in South Africa is 5 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, secondary education, duration in South Africa peaked at 5 years in 1970 and was at its lowest, 5 years, in 1970.
That places South Africa 183rd out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 183 Antigua and Barbuda 5 years compare
- 183 Aruba 5 years compare
- 183 Barbados 5 years compare
- 183 Botswana 5 years compare
- 183 Costa Rica 5 years compare
- 183 Dominica 5 years compare
- 183 Eswatini 5 years compare
- 183 Grenada 5 years compare
- 183 Guyana 5 years compare
- 183 Honduras 5 years compare
- 183 Ireland 5 years compare
- 183 Jamaica 5 years compare
- 183 Lesotho 5 years compare
- 183 Mozambique 5 years compare
- 183 Namibia 5 years compare
- 183 Nicaragua 5 years compare
- 183 Peru 5 years compare
- 183 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 5 years compare
- 183 Saint Kitts and Nevis 5 years compare
- 183 Saint Lucia 5 years compare
- 183 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5 years compare
- 183 Trinidad and Tobago 5 years compare
- 183 Turks and Caicos Islands 5 years compare
- 183 Venezuela 5 years compare
- 183 Zambia 5 years compare
More education data for South Africa
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is secondary education, duration in South Africa?
- Secondary education, duration in South Africa was 5 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest secondary education, duration recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5 years in 1970.
- What is the lowest secondary education, duration recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5 years in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for secondary education, duration?
- South Africa ranks 183rd out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is secondary 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 Secondary education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Secondary duration refers to the number of grades (years) in secondary school.