South Africa: Secondary education, vocational pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, South Africa's secondary education, vocational pupils fell 7.9% on 2016 (from 385,931 to 355,438).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2016), the average change was +2.8% and a typical year strayed about 10.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 23.7% in 2000 and the biggest yearly fall was 18.9% in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 17,447 a year. A straight line explains 66% of the movement over 9 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2017, South Africa had the 18th highest value of the 61 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 2017 ranking

• Philippines — 15th of 61: 562,545
• Belgium — 16th of 61: 524,924
• Romania — 17th of 61: 413,229
• Korea, Rep. — 19th of 61: 293,568
• Chile — 20th of 61: 292,757
• Czechia — 21st of 61: 283,313

What this measures

Secondary vocational pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in technical and vocational education programs, including teacher training.

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

All 23 values

Secondary education, vocational pupils in nearby economies

• Angola — 287,600 (2016)
• Benin — 27,875 (2016)
• Burkina Faso — 28,566 (2018)
• Burundi — 68,831 (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 1,212 (2018)
• Cameroon — 477,192 (2016)
• Central African Republic — 5,149 (2017)
• Chad — 7,791 (2016)
• Comoros — 0 (2018)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 870,961 (2015)
• Côte d'Ivoire

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

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Questions people ask

What is South Africa's secondary education, vocational pupils?

355,438 in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1989?

It is up 794.61% from 39,731 in 1989 (8.14% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 385,931 in 2016 and the lowest 36,419 in 1991.

How does South Africa rank?

18th highest of 61 economies with data for 2017.

Is the latest change in secondary education, vocational pupils unusual for South Africa?

In 2017, South Africa's secondary education, vocational pupils fell 7.9% on 2016 (from 385,931 to 355,438). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2016), the average change was +2.8% and a typical year strayed about 10.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.VO, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) 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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