Education at a Glance 2025: South Africa
Table of contents
This country note provides an overview of the key characteristics of the education system in South Africa based on data from Education at a Glance 2025. In line with this year’s thematic focus, it emphasises tertiary education while also covering other parts of the education system. The data in this note are provided for the latest available year. Readers interested in the reference years for the data should refer to the corresponding tables in Education at a Glance 2025.
The share of young adults (25-34 year-olds) without upper secondary attainment continues to decline across the OECD, reaching an average of 13%. This trend also continues in South Africa, where the share fell from 50% to 43% between 2019 and 2024.
Individuals with greater educational attainment generally face a lower risk of unemployment and earn higher wages. Completing upper secondary education is particularly important in reducing the risk of unemployment. On average across the OECD, 12.9% of economically active young adults (25-34 year-olds) without an upper secondary qualification are unemployed, compared to 6.9% of those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment. Those who go on to gain a tertiary qualification see a relatively smaller further reduction in unemployment, with 4.9% of tertiary-educated young adults unemployed on average across the OECD. This pattern is different in South Africa: 38.8% of young adults without an upper secondary qualification are unemployed, compared to 42.6% of those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment and 56.1% of those with tertiary attainment (Figure 1).
In per cent
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table A3.5.
On average, individuals with a master’s or equivalent degree have significantly higher employment rates and earnings than those with a bachelor’s or equivalent degree. However, the share of young adults (25-34 year-olds) attaining a master’s or equivalent qualification varies widely across OECD countries, ranging from 1% to 39% in 2024. In South Africa, 1% of 25-34 year-olds hold a master’s or equivalent degree, which is below the OECD average of 16%. This share was the same in 2019.
The average wage gap between individuals (25-64 year-olds) with and without upper secondary educational attainment is relatively modest across OECD countries. On average across the OECD, workers without upper secondary qualifications earn on average 17% less than those who have completed upper secondary education, while workers with tertiary attainment earn 54% more than those with upper secondary attainment. In South Africa, the wage gap between workers with and without upper secondary attainment is larger than the OECD average, at 46%. The gap between those with upper secondary and tertiary attainment is also larger than the OECD average, at 251%. This suggests a generally more dispersed wage distribution by educational attainment in South Africa, which may indicate higher relative returns to education but also a higher level of income inequality compared to the OECD average.
Education systems must adapt to changes in the number of children by expanding or reducing provision accordingly. In many countries, the population of children aged 0-4 changed significantly between 2013 and 2023 and is projected to change further by 2033. South Africa experienced an increase of 3% in the number of 0-4 year-olds, and is projected to see a decline of 4% between 2023 and 2033.
Across the OECD, the two most popular broad fields of study are science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and business, administration, and law, each accounting for 23% of graduates from bachelor’s or equivalent programmes. They are closely followed by the broad field of arts and humanities, social sciences, journalism and information, at 22% of graduates. In South Africa, 15% of bachelor’s degree students graduate from a STEM field, 38% from business, administration and law, and 16% from arts and humanities, social sciences, journalism and information.
International student mobility in tertiary education continues to rise across the OECD, with some countries experiencing substantial growth in the share of international students between 2018 and 2023. On average, 7.4% of all tertiary students across the OECD were international or foreign students, compared to 6% in 2018. South Africa was one of the few countries with no increase, with the share decreasing from 3.6% to 2.7% (Figure 2).
In per cent
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table B4.3.
There are significant disparities in how much governments spend each year in education across OECD, partner and accession countries. South Africa spends USD 3 108 per student from primary to post-secondary non-tertiary levels, placing it at the lower end of the country range, which spans from less than USD 2 000 to more than USD 27 000 (Figure 3).
In equivalent USD converted using PPPs, expenditure on educational institutions
Note: Expenditure at tertiary level includes R&D. Expenditure per student in early childhood education is based on headcounts rather than full-time equivalent students. Expenditure at tertiary level for Luxembourg (USD 54 384) is not shown in the figure.
1. Year of reference differs from 2022.
2. Primary includes pre-primary education.
3. Includes payments by households outside educational institutions.
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table C1.1 and Table C1.2.
As in most other countries, government expenditure in South Africa is higher at tertiary level, including research and development (R&D), than at primary to post-secondary non-tertiary levels. Government expenditure in South Africa amounts to USD 11 504 per tertiary student compared to the OECD average of USD 15 102.
A large part of the disparity in expenditure per student across OECD, partner and accession countries reflects differences in national income levels. When expenditure is measured as a share of GDP, cross-country differences tend to be smaller, ranging from 2.5% of GDP to 6.9%. In South Africa, education investment in primary to tertiary education stands at 6.9% of GDP, which is above the OECD average of 4.7% by this measure.
For more information on Education at a Glance 2025 and to access the full set of indicators, see: https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en.
For more information on the methodology used during the data collection for each indicator, the references to the sources and the specific notes for each country, see Education at a Glance 2025: Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes, https://doi.org/10.1787/fcfaf2d1-en.
For general information on the methodology, please refer to the OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics 2018, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304444-en.
Updated data can be found on line at http://data-explorer.oecd.org/ and by following the StatLinks in the publication.
Explore, compare and visualise more data and analysis using the Education GPS: https://gpseducation.oecd.org/.
Questions can be directed to the Education at a Glance team at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills: EDU.EAG@oecd.org.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Attribution – you must cite the work.
Translations – you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text: In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and the translation, only the text of original work should be considered valid.
Adaptations – you must cite the original work and add the following text: This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.
Third-party material – the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and for any claims of infringement.
You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.
Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shall be Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one.