Figure 17: Share of population by highest level of education and age group, 2020

Figure 17 below shows the share of adults in South Africa by their highest level of education, broken down by age group. This again shows the positive shift that has occurred over an even longer time frame. 7% of those currently aged 55-64 report having had no schooling. This has dropped but is not eliminated. Of those currently aged 25-34 years, less than 1% report having no schooling. A similar trend shows for those with less than primary schooling. 19% of current 55-64-year-olds report having had less than primary schooling, while 3% of those currently aged 25-34 report the same. Overall, this picture shows that people are increasingly attaining higher levels of education, with significantly more people reaching and completing secondary school.

Figure 17: Share of population by highest level of education and age group, 2020 Source: QLFS 2020 (2021)27

Figure 18 below looks at the same QLFS data, comparing 2010 and 2020 data for adults (25-64 years old), but breaks this down by race. Black African and Coloured groups had the largest proportions of persons who have had some secondary schooling as their highest level of education. Meanwhile, the largest proportions of Indian/Asian and White people had secondary education (completed) as their highest level of education. This picture has improved over time, however to a large extent the inequalities persist.