In 2023, the duration of compulsory education in South Africa did not change in comparison to the previous year. The duration of compulsory education remained at nine years. The duration of compulsory education refers to the number of years that children are obliged to attend schoolFind more statistics on other topics about South Africa with key insights such as Gender Parity Index (GPI) for gross enrollment in tertiary education, Gender Parity Index (GPI) in youth literacy, and gross enrollment ratio for secondary school students .

Educational attainment, at least completed post-secondary, population 25+, total (%) (cumulative) in South Africa was reported at 15.31 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Educational attainment, at least completed post-secondary, population 25+, total (cumulative) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

The gross tertiary enrollment ratio in South Africa increased by 1.8 percentage points (+7.1 percent) in 2022 in comparison to the previous year. With 27.17 percent, the gross tertiary enrollment ratio thereby reached its highest value in the observed period. Notably, the gross tertiary enrollment ratio continuously increased over the last years.The gross tertiary enrollment ratio refers to the number of students enrolled in tertiary education regardless of age expressed as a percentage of the population of the age group corresponding to the given level.Find more statistics on other topics about South Africa with key insights such as Gender Parity Index (GPI) in youth literacy, gross enrollment ratio for secondary school students , and Gender Parity Index (GPI) for gross enrollment in tertiary education.

Abstract

The Master List of Schools is a record of all schools in South Africa. The data forms part of the national Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) database used to inform education policymakers and managers in the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Provincial education departments, as well as to provide valuable information to external stakeholders. The list is maintained by provincial departments and regularly sent to DBE for updating. A key function of the master list is to uniquely identify each school in the country through a school identifier called the EMIS number. Additionally, the list contains data on school quintiles - categories (quintiles) based on the socioeconomic status of the community in which the school is situated. Analyses comparing schools' performance often use school quintiles as control measures for socioeconomic status, to take into account the effect of, for example, poor infrastructure, shortage of materials and deprived home backgrounds on school performance. There are also other basic data fields in the school master list that could provide the means to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about learner enrolment, teachers and learner-teacher ratio of schools. It is a useful dataset for education planners and researchers and is even widely used in the private sector by those who regularly deal with schools.

Geographic coverage

The data has national coverage

Analysis unit

Individuals and institutions

Universe

The survey covers all schools (ordinary and special needs) in South Africa, both public and independent.

Kind of data

Administrative records and survey data

Mode of data collection

Other

Research instrument

Data from the SNAP survey and ANA that are used to compile the Master List of Schools is collected with a survey questionnaire and educator forms. The principle completes the survey questionnaire and each educator (both state paid and other) in each school completes an educator form. Schools record their EMIS number provided by the DBE on the questionnaire and form for identification.

Data appraisal

The 2023 series only includes data for quarter 2 and quarter 3. The GIS coordinates for schools in the Eastern Cape are incorrectly entered in the original data from the DBE. The data entered in the GIS_long variable is incorrectly entered into the GIS_lat variable. This issue only occurs for schools in the Eastern Cape (EC), all other GIS coordinates for all the other provinces is correct. Therefore, for geospatial analysis, users can swap the GIS coordiate data only for the Eastern Cape.

The number of children out of school in South Africa increased by 351,713 children (+61.91 percent) compared to the previous year. The year therefore marks a significant change in the number of children out of school compared to the previous year. Out-of-school children are the number of school-age children enrolled in primary or secondary school minus the total population of the official primary school-age children.Find more statistics on other topics about South Africa with key insights such as gross enrollment ratio for secondary school students , youth literacy rate (people aged 15-24), and duration of compulsory education.

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction programmes, both sexes (%) in South Africa was reported at 7.9958 % in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction programmes, both sexes - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Unemployment with advanced education (% of total labor force with advanced education) in South Africa was reported at 15.14 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Unemployment with advanced education (% of total unemployment) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

As of 2022, 5.5 percent of Black Africans aged 18 to 29 were enrolled at a higher education institution in South Africa, which marks an increase of 2.6 percentage points compared to 2002. And while Black Africans constituted the majority of young adult students in numbers, the participation rate of this population group continued to be lower compared to the Indian/Asians at 19.6 percent and the white population group at 17.7 percent.

School enrollment, secondary (% gross) in South Africa was reported at 108 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - School enrollment, secondary (% gross) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

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As of 2024, the total number of teaching staff in South Africa amounted to roughly 459,993. The largest number was in Gauteng, with close to 98,140 educators. KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape followed with around 96,020 and 61,670 teachers, respectively.

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The total number of students in South Africa amounted to around 13.4 million in 2022. There were more male enrollees in the schools than female ones, reaching approximately 6.78 million and 6.63 million students, respectively. Moreover, most of the learners were receiving education via public schooling with a share of around 95 percent.

Primary education, duration (years) in South Africa was reported at 7 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Primary education, duration (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

South Africa Consumer Price Index (CPI): Weights: Urban: Education: Primary and Secondary data was reported at 1.570 Per 100 in 2024. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.570 Per 100 for 2023. South Africa Consumer Price Index (CPI): Weights: Urban: Education: Primary and Secondary data is updated yearly, averaging 1.540 Per 100 from Jan 2009 (Median) to 2024, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.720 Per 100 in 2016 and a record low of 1.280 Per 100 in 2012. South Africa Consumer Price Index (CPI): Weights: Urban: Education: Primary and Secondary data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics South Africa. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.I037: Consumer Price Index: Weights: Urban (Old Classification).

As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate in South Africa stood at 32.1 percent. The majority of unemployed individuals had an education level below matric (grade 12), while those that had finished their matric year represented around 34 percent. Graduates had the lowest share of unemployment at approximately 10 percent.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index: Education (COICOP 10): Total for South Africa (ZAFCP100000IXNBQ) from Q1 2008 to Q3 2023 about South Africa, CPI, price index, indexes, and price.

As of 2024, the number of schools in South Africa amounted to more than 24,800. The majority of the schools were located within KwaZulu-Natal, reaching 6,030 in total. The Eastern Cape and Limpopo followed with 5,295 and 3,823 schools, respectively.

The average for 2021 based on 42 countries was 4.3 percent. The highest value was in Namibia: 10.39 percent and the lowest value was in Nigeria: 0.38 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.