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Primary school enrolment (gross) in South Africa

Gross primary school enrolment in South Africa was 101.8% in 2023.

Measure: Primary school enrolment (gross) Unit: % of the official primary school-age population Data: 1970 to 2023 Source: World Bank
South Africa, 2023 101.8% % of the official primary school-age population
Change from 2022 −0.6percentage points 2022: 102.4%
World, 2023 100.7% Official aggregate
Median of G20 countries, 2023 101.6% Middle value of 16 countries
Position in 2023 66th of 166 See the full ranking

Primary school enrolment (gross) in South Africa over time

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South Africa World ×

% of the official primary school-age population. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Primary school enrolment (gross) (% of the official primary school-age population), 2001 to 2024
Period South AfricaWorld
2024 – 102.2%
2023 101.8% 100.7%
2022 102.4% 100.4%
2021 101.7% 99.4%
2020 101.3% 99.6%
2019 101.1% 99.1%
2018 100.4% 99.1%
2017 101.6% 101.8%
2016 103.4% 102.1%
2015 107.3% 101.0%
2014 104.2% 101.6%
2013 104.1% 103.0%
2012 104.7% 102.9%
2011 104.0% 102.4%
2010 103.4% 102.5%
2009 102.6% 102.7%
2008 102.4% 102.9%
2007 101.2% 102.7%
2006 98.6% 101.7%
2005 97.5% 101.7%
2004 97.8% 101.6%
2003 96.9% 100.9%
2002 95.7% 99.4%
2001 93.4% 99.2%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

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In short

  • That is a change of −0.6 percentage points from 102.4% in 2022.
  • Since 2013, when it was 104.1%, the figure has changed by −2.3 percentage points.
  • Among the 166 countries with data for 2023, South Africa has the 66th highest value.
  • The figure for the world in 2023 was 100.7%.

More for South Africa

All statistics for South Africa
Tertiary education enrolment (gross) 23.5% 2023 · World Bank Adult literacy rate 91.2% 2024 · World Bank ILO estimate of the youth NEET rate 34.7% 2025 · ILOSTAT Primary completion (UIS) 97.6% 2024 · UNESCO UIS Lower secondary completion 92.5% 2024 · UNESCO UIS Upper secondary completion 62.2% 2024 · UNESCO UIS

Source and dates

Original producer
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Distributed by
World Bank, World Development Indicators
Dataset or series code
SE.PRM.ENRR · dataset details · view at source
Observation period
1970 to 2023 for South Africa
Provider update
8 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (per series metadata)
Attribution
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, original data: UNESCO Institute for Statistics