South Africa: Primary education, teachers

Key figures

Since 1977 it is up 95.78% from 146,753 in 1977 (1.47% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 22 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.4% in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.6% in 2001. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, South Africa had the 8th highest value of the 40 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 2023 ranking

• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 5th of 40: 372,396
• Russian Federation — 6th of 40: 327,102
• Türkiye — 7th of 40: 299,967
• Kenya — 9th of 40: 281,500
• United Kingdom — 10th of 40: 281,128
• Afghanistan — 11th of 40: 163,167

What this measures

Primary education, teachers refers to the total number of teachers at primary level, including full-time and part-time teachers.

Limitations: The precision of this indicator can be influenced by the enumeration method used, such as headcount or 'full-time equivalent' count of teachers.

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

All 25 values

Primary education, teachers in nearby economies

• Angola — 96,016 (2023)
• Benin — 59,742 (2022)
• Botswana — 16,622 (2022)
• Burkina Faso — 91,764 (2024)
• Burundi — 43,226 (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 3,031 (2022)
• Cameroon — 121,453 (2024)
• Central African Republic — 9,756 (2016)
• Chad — 54,801 (2024)
• Comoros — 3,952 (2024)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 561,172 (2023)
• Congo, Rep.

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)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is South Africa's primary education, teachers?

287,310 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is up 95.78% from 146,753 in 1977 (1.47% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 287,310 in 2023 and the lowest 145,434 in 1978.

How does South Africa rank?

8th highest of 40 economies with data for 2023.

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.TCHR, 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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