Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in South Africa
South Africa: Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index was 0.9523 index in 2023. ▼ Falling
Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in South Africa, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in index.
Analysis
The most recent figure for primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in South Africa is 0.9523 index, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in South Africa peaked at 1.02 index in 1989 and was at its lowest, 0.9414 index, in 2015.
That places South Africa 183rd out of 215 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in South Africa, year by year
| Year | index | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.01 index | — |
| 1986 | 1.01 index | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 1.01 index | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 1.01 index | -0.0% |
| 1989 | 1.02 index | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 1.02 index | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 1.01 index | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 0.9796 index | -3.3% |
| 1995 | 0.9926 index | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 0.9922 index | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.9881 index | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 0.9877 index | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.9684 index | -2.0% |
| 2001 | 0.9825 index | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 0.9862 index | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 0.9835 index | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 0.9795 index | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 0.9802 index | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 0.9765 index | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 0.982 index | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 0.9826 index | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 0.9796 index | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 0.9761 index | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 0.9737 index | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 0.9723 index | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 0.9709 index | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 0.9729 index | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 0.9414 index | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 0.9748 index | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 0.9689 index | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 0.9595 index | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 0.9599 index | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.9512 index | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 0.9523 index | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 0.9491 index | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 0.9523 index | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.01 index | 1.01 index | 1.01 index | 1 |
| 1980s | 1.01 index | 1.01 index | 1.02 index | 4 |
| 1990s | 0.996 index | 0.9796 index | 1.02 index | 7 |
| 2000s | 0.9801 index | 0.9684 index | 0.9862 index | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.967 index | 0.9414 index | 0.9761 index | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9512 index | 0.9491 index | 0.9523 index | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More health data for South Africa
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.2 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1386 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,152 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 3,333 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 50-54, male, annual growth rate 2.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per capita 0.0221 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, annual growth rate 0.8639 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per capita 0.0217 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in South Africa?
- Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in South Africa was 0.9523 index in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.02 index in 1989.
- What is the lowest primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9414 index in 2015.
- How does South Africa rank for primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index?
- South Africa ranks 183rd out of 215 countries with data for 2023.
- Is primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
An adjusted gender parity index of 1 indicates equality in the expected number of years a child of school entrance age is likely to spend in primary school between boys and girls. Values below 1 favor boys, and above 1 favor girls.