Data series, Education
Enrolment at public universities
1.1 million students2023. Up from 1.0 million in 2022.
Series id higher-education-enrolment. This page and its downloads keep the same address when new figures are added.
Total headcount enrolments at public universities for the 2023 academic year, across 26 public higher education institutions. This excludes TVET colleges and private higher education institutions.
Source: Department of Higher Education and Training, Statistics on Post-School Education and Training 2023. Source released . Checked on SA Data Hub .
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 1.0 million |
| 2019 | 1.0 million |
| 2020 | 1.0 million |
| 2021 | 1.1 million |
| 2022 | 1.0 million |
| 2023 | 1.1 million |
Every value
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.1 million |
| 2022 | 1.0 million |
| 2021 | 1.1 million |
| 2020 | 1.0 million |
| 2019 | 1.0 million |
| 2018 | 1.0 million |
Changes to this series
No revisions by the publisher have been recorded for this series. SA Data Hub started recording them on 7 November 2026; earlier revisions are not listed.
SA Data Hub's update log for this dataset
, correction
Retired the story "Matric 2024: an 87.3% pass rate and persistent inequalities". Its provincial pass rates and its claims about international reading tests could not be traced to a release SA Data Hub holds. Its address now redirects to "Matric 2025: 88.0% passed, and 345 857 qualified for a degree", where every figure cites the Department of Basic Education's 2025 NSC Examination Report with its table and page.
, data update
Matric pass rate updated to 2025 (88%, DBE announcement 2026-01-12). One-decimal figure (88.0) is inferred; denominator not verified from the DBE NSC report (D3b). Literacy and university enrolment unchanged.
, data update
NSC exam results and education indicators updated from latest DBE release.
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You may reuse this series under CC BY 4.0. Credit Department of Higher Education and Training as the original source and SA Data Hub as the place you got it.
Cite this series
Department of Higher Education and Training (2024). Statistics on Post-School Education and Training 2023. Series "Enrolment at public universities" via SA Data Hub, https://sadatahub.tech/series/higher-education-enrolment (checked 2026-10-19).
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