South Africa Tertiary Education Enrollment Rate (2023)
South Africa's Tertiary Education Enrollment Rate: 23.5 % gross enrollment ratio in 2023, -0.2pp YoY. World Bank (SE.TER.ENRR), 1970–2023.
South Africa (2023)
23.5
% gross enrollment ratio
-0.2pp YoY
YoY Change
-0.2pp
percentage points
Trend
down
Series length
21
years of data
Data
| Year | % gross enrollment ratio | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 23.5 | -0.2pp |
| 2022 | 23.7 | +1.4pp |
| 2021 | 22.3 | -0.3pp |
| 2020 | 22.6 | +0.4pp |
| 2019 | 22.2 | -0.2pp |
| 2018 | 22.4 | +1.3pp |
| 2017 | 21.1 | +2.2pp |
| 2016 | 18.9 | -0.1pp |
| 2015 | 19 | +0.5pp |
| 2014 | 18.5 | -0.1pp |
| 2013 | 18.6 | +0.7pp |
| 2012 | 17.9 | n/a |
| 1994 | 15.7 | +2.1pp |
| 1993 | 13.6 | +1.3pp |
| 1992 | 12.3 | +0.5pp |
| 1991 | 11.8 | +0.4pp |
| 1990 | 11.4 | +0.1pp |
| 1989 | 11.3 | +0.8pp |
| 1988 | 10.5 | n/a |
| 1973 | 4.4 | n/a |
About this Dataset
South Africa recorded 23.5 % gross enrollment ratio in 2023. The latest change was -0.2pp. Across 1970–2023 the series ranges from 4 % gross enrollment ratio in 1970 to 23.7 % gross enrollment ratio in 2022.
This page tracks the gross tertiary education enrollment ratio in South Africa. Tertiary enrollment reflects the depth of the educated workforce and talent pipeline for knowledge-economy sectors.
Data sourced from World Bank via Open Data API. Values use World Bank standardised methodology intended for cross-country comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
This page tracks the gross tertiary education enrollment ratio in South Africa. Tertiary enrollment reflects the depth of the educated workforce and talent pipeline for knowledge-economy sectors. It is published by World Bank and updated annually.
The most recent observation covers 2023. World Bank typically publishes this series with a lag of several months after the reference period. The series runs 1970–2023 (21 observations).
The series peaked at 23.7 % gross enrollment ratio in 2022 and reached its lowest recorded value of 4 % gross enrollment ratio in 1970. The latest reading is 23.5 % gross enrollment ratio in 2023. The latest change was -0.2pp.