Low-Income
Country Africa (Sub-Saharan)

South Africa

  • SDG Score 76
  • Policy Score 63
  • Avg. Score 69

Home to 711,700 out-of-school girls who represent 11% of all school aged girls nationally.

SDG Score

Total: 76.08

Available Indicators: 13/22

  • Pre-primary Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Proportion of girls enrolled in pre-primary school 73%
    Proportion of girls enrolled in pre-primary relative to boys (parity) 99/100
  • Out-of-school rates Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Out-of-school rate for girls of primary school age 11%
    Out-of-school rate for girls of lower secondary school age 10%
    Out-of-school rate for girls of upper secondary school age 17%
  • Completion rates Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Proportion of girls completing primary school relative to boys No Data
    Proportion of girls completing primary school No Data
    Proportion of girls completing lower secondary school relative to boys No Data
    Proportion of girls completing lower secondary school 94%
    Proportion of girls completing upper secondary school relative to boys No Data
    Proportion of girls completing upper secondary school 65%
  • Teachers Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Proportion of qualified female teachers in pre-primary education No Data
    Proportion of qualified female teachers in primary education No Data
    Proportion of qualified female teachers in lower-secondary education No Data
    Proportion of qualified female teachers in upper-secondary education No Data
  • Expenditure Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP 7%
    Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure 21%
  • Learning-adjusted years of schooling Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Learning-adjusted years of school 5.83
  • Climate education Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Climate change education ambition scores No Data
  • Inequality Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Ratio of the number of poorest girls completing primary school to the number of richest girls 96:100
    Ratio of the number of poorest girls completing lower secondary school to the number of richest girls 74:100
    Ratio of the number of poorest girls completing primary school to the number of richest girls 26:100

Policy Score

Total: 62.8

Available Indicators: 29/32

  • Financial barriers Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Is primary education tuition free? Not tuition-free
    Is beginning secondary education tuition-free? Not tuition-free
    Is completing secondary education tuition-free?  Not tuition-free
    Are parents incentivized to send their daughters to school (cash transfers)? National incentive programmes
    What is the perceived reach of these cash transfers? High
    What is the coverage of school feeding programmes? 71.75
  • Sexual & reproductive health rights Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Is child marriage banned? Ban for boys but not girls
    When loophole exceptions are taken into account, what is the minimum age of marriage for girls? 13 years old or younger
    To what extent do laws and regulations guarantee full and equal access to contraceptive services? No Data
    To what extent do laws and regulations guarantee the provision of comprehensive sexuality education? 100
    Is the right to education of pregnant and parenting girls legally protected? No explicit protection of the right to education of pregnant and parenting girls
    What is the coverage of separate toilets and sanitation facilities for girls? No Data
  • Child safety and non-discrimination in education Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Party to the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education? Ratified
    Party to UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women? Ratified without reservation(s)
    Is there a national program to reduce violence by school staff in place? National
    Is there a ban on corporal punishment? National
    What is the perceived reach of the ban on corporal punishment? Medium
    Is there a National Action Plan to reduce violence in schools? National
    To what extent is the National Action Plan to reduce violence in schools funded? Partial
  • Labour market opportunities Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Does the law mandate nondiscrimination based on gender in employment? Yes
    Does the law mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value? Yes
    Does legislation explicitly guarantee equal pay on the basis of gender?  Guarantees equal pay for work of equal value based on gender
    Does the law prohibit discrimination by creditors on the basis of sex or gender? Yes
    Is sexual harassment of women explicitly prohibited in the workplace? Legislative language extends protection to both women and men
  • Role models Indica­tors
    Indicator Value
    Proportion of female primary teachers No Data
    Proportion of female lower secondary teachers 60.64
    Proportion of female upper secondary teachers 0.57
    Proportion female public sector workers 58.2
    Are there voluntary party quotas for female parliamentarians? Yes
    Are there legal quotas (constitutional or electoral law) in the lower house? No legislation
    Are there legal quotas (constitutional or electoral law) in the upper house? No legislation
    Are there legal quotas (constitutional or electoral law) at the subnational level? Legal candidate quotas

See how South Africa compares against other low- and middle-income countries

View Report Card