Education at a Glance 2026: South Africa
Table of contents
This country note for Education at a Glance 2026 provides an overview of the key characteristics of the education system in South Africa. In line with this year’s thematic focus, it emphasises teacher shortages while also covering other parts of the education system. The data in this note are provided for the latest available year. Readers are referred to the corresponding tables in Education at a Glance 2026 for notes and reference years.
Recruiting second-career teachers is a common strategy for addressing teacher shortages and helps to diversify the profile of the teaching workforce. According to the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024, on average across the OECD, 8.4% of lower secondary teachers are second-career teachers; in South Africa, they make up 2.7% of all teachers (Table 5).
According to the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024, a large majority of lower secondary teachers (68.4%) are satisfied with their terms of employment (barring salaries) on average across the OECD. In contrast, the share of lower secondary teachers who are satisfied with their salaries is much lower at 38.7% on average. In South Africa, 57.7% of lower secondary teachers are satisfied with their terms of employment and 26.4% are satisfied with their salaries (Table 5).
Educational attainment remains at an all-time high in 2025 as more people obtain advanced qualifications. Across the OECD, 43% of working-age adults (25-64 year-olds) have a tertiary qualification, while the share of adults with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment is slightly lower at 39%. In South Africa, the share of adults with tertiary attainment is below the OECD average at 8%, while the share of adults with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment is above the OECD average at 43% (Table A1.1).
The share of young adults without upper secondary attainment continues to decline across the OECD, standing at 12% in 2025. This trend is also apparent in South Africa, where the share of 25-34 year-olds without upper secondary attainment decreased from 51% to 42% between 2015 and 2025 (Table A1.2).
Youth and young adults who are neither employed nor in education or training (NEET) are a key policy concern, as prolonged periods of inactivity at a young age can have lasting negative effects on socio-economic outcomes later in life. In South Africa, 48% of all 18-24 year-olds were NEET in 2025, up from 41% in 2015. For comparison, the average share of NEETs across OECD countries with available data for both years was 13% in 2025 and 16% in 2015 (Table A2.2).
Employment outcomes for recent tertiary graduates vary across countries and are shaped by economic conditions, labour demand, and public policy. In South Africa, the unemployment rate among tertiary-educated young adults increased from 13% in 2015 to 16% in 2025. The corresponding rates across OECD countries with available data for both years were 7% on average in 2015 and 5% in 2025 (Table A3.3).
The labour-market significance of advanced qualifications is also reflected in earnings. In almost every OECD country, workers without a tertiary qualification have earnings below the national average. In South Africa, full-time, full-year workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment earn 4% less than the national average and those with below upper secondary attainment earn 57% less (Figure A4.1).
The number of primary and secondary schools – and thus their geographical proximity to students – varies across countries. Many countries have more primary than lower secondary schools, reflecting the desire to provide education close to primary students’ homes while offering secondary students the greater choice of specialist subjects that can only be provided by larger schools. In South Africa, there are 5.67 primary schools for each lower secondary school, well above the OECD average of 1.97 (Figure B2.4).
At tertiary level (ISCED 5-8), most OECD countries host a larger number of international students than they send abroad. On average across the OECD, outbound internationally mobile students account for 6% of all national students (whether enrolled domestically or abroad), while inbound students account for 12% of all students enrolled domestically in 2024. In South Africa the share of outbound international students is 1%, while inbound international students average 3%. The top three destination countries for outbound students in South Africa are the United States (21%), the United Kingdom (17%) and Australia (11%), while the top three origin countries of inbound students are Zimbabwe (32%), Namibia (7%) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7%) (Table B4.3. and Table B4.4).
In many countries, inbound mobility has increased faster than outbound mobility among tertiary students. On average across the OECD, the share of inbound mobile students increased by 4 percentage points between 2015 and 2024, and the share of outbound mobile students increased by 1 percentage point. In South Africa, the share of inbound students decreased by 1 percentage point, while the share of outbound students remained the same (Table B4.3).
Expenditure can be divided into capital and current expenditure: the former finances investment in assets such as infrastructure, while the latter covers regular operating costs. Current expenditure can be further broken down into staff compensation and other current expenditure, such as purchases of goods and services and routine maintenance. In South Africa, 79% of current expenditure in primary educational institutions is dedicated to staff compensation compared to 79% on average across the OECD, while the remainder is dedicated to other current expenditure (Figure C3.3).
Women form the majority of teachers at all levels of education except tertiary. Teachers in primary education are almost entirely women with 83% of teachers being female on average across the OECD. The share of women among primary teachers in South Africa is slightly lower at 79%. At 61%, the share of female teachers in lower secondary education is lower, and it is below the OECD average of 68% (Table D5.1).
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For more information on Education at a Glance 2026 and to access the full set of indicators, see: https://doi.org/10.1787/b4968bbc-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 2026: Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes, https://doi.org/10.1787/dcf64a14-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 online 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 issued under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD, and does not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD Member countries.
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The full book is available in English: OECD (2026), Education at a Glance 2026: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b4968bbc-en.
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