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 October of 2025.

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 gross tertiary enrollment ratio in South Africa amounted to ***** percent in 2022. Between 1970 and 2022, the gross tertiary enrollment ratio rose by ***** percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

Labor force with advanced education (% of total working-age population with advanced education) in South Africa was reported at 80.92 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Labor force with advanced education (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

The duration of compulsory education in South Africa stood at **** years in 2023. Overall, the figures remained stable over the observed period.

Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary, population 25+, male (%) (cumulative) in South Africa was reported at 13.09 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary, population 25+, male (cumulative) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Education expenditure of South Africa decreased by 0.31% from 6.17 % in 2022 to 6.15 % in 2023. Since the 6.13% surge in 2021, education expenditure dropped by 6.12% in 2023. Public expenditure on education consists of current and capital public expenditure on education includes government spending on educational institutions (both public and private), education administration as well as subsidies for private entities (students/households and other privates entities).

Government expenditure on education, total (% of government expenditure) in South Africa was reported at 18.65 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Public spending on education, total (% of government expenditure) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Forecast: Higher Education Researchers in South Africa 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

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.

Forecast: Higher Education Total R&D Personnel in South Africa 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

South Africa's education landscape is dominated by public schools, which account for over ** percent of the country's nearly ****** educational institutions. As of 2024, there are ****** public schools compared to ***** independent schools. This stark contrast highlights the government's significant role in providing education to the nation's youth and underscores the challenges faced in ensuring quality education across such a vast network of schools. Regional disparities in school distribution and staffing KwaZulu-Natal leads the nation with ***** schools, followed by the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. However, when it comes to teaching staff, Gauteng takes the top spot with ****** educators, despite having fewer schools than KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. This disparity suggests varying student-to-teacher ratios across provinces, potentially impacting educational quality and outcomes. The concentration of independent school teachers in Gauteng also indicates a more diverse educational landscape in the province. Education's impact on employment prospects The distribution of schools and teachers across South Africa has far-reaching implications for the country's workforce. As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate stood at **** percent, with individuals having less than a matric education constituting the largest portion of the unemployed. In contrast, university graduates had the lowest unemployment rate at approximately ** percent. This stark difference underscores the critical importance of accessible, quality education in improving employment prospects and addressing South Africa's persistent unemployment challenges.

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 October of 2025.

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 October of 2025.

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.

In 2022, the number of children out of school in South Africa stood at 919,820 people. Between 1970 and 2022, the figure dropped by 357,610 people, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Forecast: Higher Education Women Researchers in South Africa 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

South Africa Consumer Price Index (CPI): Weights: Education: Tertiary data was reported at 1.000 Per 100 in 2024. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.000 Per 100 for 2023. South Africa Consumer Price Index (CPI): Weights: Education: Tertiary data is updated yearly, averaging 0.950 Per 100 from Jan 2009 (Median) to 2024, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.120 Per 100 in 2016 and a record low of 0.800 Per 100 in 2012. South Africa Consumer Price Index (CPI): Weights: Education: Tertiary 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.I035: Consumer Price Index: Weights (Old Classification).

Abstract

The GHS is an annual household survey which measures the living circumstances of South African households. The GHS collects data on education, health, and social development, housing, access to services and facilities, food security, and agriculture.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The survey covers all de jure household members (usual residents) of households in the nine provinces of South Africa, and residents in workers' hostels. The survey does not cover collective living quarters such as student hostels, old age homes, hospitals, prisons, and military barracks.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

From 2015 the General Household Survey (GHS) uses a Master Sample (MS) frame developed in 2013 as a general-purpose sampling frame to be used for all Stats SA household-based surveys. This MS has design requirements that are reasonably compatible with the GHS. The 2013 Master Sample is based on information collected during the 2011 Census conducted by Stats SA. In preparation for Census 2011, the country was divided into 103 576 enumeration areas (EAs). The census EAs, together with the auxiliary information for the EAs, were used as the frame units or building blocks for the formation of primary sampling units (PSUs) for the Master Sample, since they covered the entire country, and had other information that is crucial for stratification and creation of PSUs. There are 3 324 primary sampling units (PSUs) in the Master Sample, with an expected sample of approximately 33 000 dwelling units (DUs). The number of PSUs in the current Master Sample (3 324) reflect an 8,0% increase in the size of the Master Sample compared to the previous (2008) Master Sample (which had 3 080 PSUs). The larger Master Sample of PSUs was selected to improve the precision (smaller coefficients of variation, known as CVs) of the GHS estimates. The Master Sample is designed to be representative at provincial level and within provinces at metro/non-metro levels. Within the metros, the sample is further distributed by geographical type. The three geography types are Urban, Tribal and Farms. This implies, for example, that within a metropolitan area, the sample is representative of the different geography types that may exist within that metro.

The sample for the GHS is based on a stratified two-stage design with probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling of PSUs in the first stage, and sampling of dwelling units (DUs) with systematic sampling in the second stage.After allocating the sample to the provinces, the sample was further stratified by geography (primary stratification), and by population attributes using Census 2011 data (secondary stratification).

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview

Research instrument

Data was collected with a household questionnaire and a questionnaire administered to a household member to elicit information on household members.

Data appraisal

Since 2019, the questionnaire for the GHS series changed and the variables were also renamed. For correspondence between old names (GHS pre-2019) and new name (GHS post-2019), see the document ghs-2019-variables-renamed.