South Africa: Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 3.41 percentage points from 94.39% in 2017. Since 1990 it is up 19.07 percentage points from 78.72% in 1990. The World Bank has no value for 21 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

How it compares

In 2022, South Africa had the 9th highest value of the 16 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to South Africa in the 2022 ranking

• Sri Lanka — 6th of 16: 98.57%
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 7th of 16: 98.04%
• Argentina — 8th of 16: 97.99%
• Lebanon — 10th of 16: 97.04%
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 11th of 16: 95.71%
• Lesotho — 12th of 16: 89.34%

What this measures

Persistence to grade 5 (percentage of cohort reaching grade 5) is the share of children enrolled in the first grade of primary school who eventually reach grade 5. The estimate is based on the reconstructed cohort method.

Limitations: The estimates have limitations in capturing real trend in that an observed rate will be applied to the underlying indicators such as repetition rate and promotion rate throughout the cohort life, and re-entrants, grade skipping, migration or transfers during a school year are not adequately captured.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 12 values

Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) in nearby economies

• Benin — 63.17% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 47.8% (2022)
• Burundi — 63.56% (2019)
• Cabo Verde — 96.28% (2021)
• Cameroon — 75.26% (2023)
• Chad — 80.97% (2017)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 77.98% (2020)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 69.97% (2021)
• Eritrea — 79.78% (2017)
• Eswatini — 98.16% (2018)

More education data for South Africa

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 14 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 7.52 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 101.77% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 99.21% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 104.32% (2023)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of government expenditure) — 19.14% (2025)

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Questions people ask

What is South Africa's persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort)?

97.8% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 19.07 percentage points from 78.72% in 1990. The highest value was 99.65% in 2018 and the lowest 64.25% in 1999.

How does South Africa rank?

9th highest of 16 economies with data for 2022.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.PRS5.FE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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