Total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education in South Africa

South Africa: Total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education was 10.44 million in 2020. β–Ό Falling

Latest (2020)
10.44 million
Change on year
down 5.9%
World rank
25th
of 107 countries
All-time high
16.89 million
in 2007
All-time low
0
in 2005
Years of data
21
1995–2020

Total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education in South Africa, 1995–2020

05.0M10.0M15.0M1995200720201995: 9.1M2000: 11.6M2001: 11.9M2002: 13.0M2003: 12.9M2004: 13.3M2005: 02006: 16.7M2007: 16.9M2008: 8.1M2009: 8.4M2010: 8.6M2011: 8.9M2013: 9.6M2014: 9.9M2015: 10.3M2016: 10.1M2017: 10.3M2018: 10.7M2019: 11.1M2020: 10.4M

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

In 2020, total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education in South Africa stood at 10.44 million.

That represents a change of down 5.9% on the previous year and up 22.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education in South Africa peaked at 16.89 million in 2007 and was at its lowest, 0, in 2005.

South Africa ranks 25th of 107 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 9.06 million 9.06 million 9.06 million 1
2000s 11.28 million 0 16.89 million 10
2010s 9.93 million 8.56 million 11.09 million 9
2020s 10.44 million 10.44 million 10.44 million 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 22 Bangladesh 12.31 million compare
  2. 23 Argentina 11.25 million compare
  3. 24 Pakistan 10.79 million compare
  4. 26 Venezuela 7.97 million compare
  5. 27 Ghana 7.56 million compare
  6. 28 Sri Lanka 6.66 million compare

See the full ranking of 107 places β†’

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education in South Africa?
Total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education in South Africa was 10.44 million in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 16.89 million in 2007.
What is the lowest total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 2005.
How does South Africa rank for total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education?
South Africa ranks 25th out of 107 countries with data for 2020.
Is total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 22.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education in South Africa. Statizoid. Retrieved 17 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/total-labor-force-in-the-sample-aged-15-64-above-primary-education/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/total-labor-force-in-the-sample-aged-15-64-above-primary-education/south-africa/">Total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education in South Africa</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Total labor force in the sample, aged 15-64, above primary education
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
107 places, 1,446 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed