South Africa’s Class of 2025 has set a new benchmark after achieving an 88% matric pass rate, the highest in the country’s history, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced.
The result follows a 87.3% pass rate in 2024 and comes from a record cohort of over 900,000 learners who wrote exams at 6,000 centres nationwide. Every one of the country’s 75 districts exceeded an 80% pass rate.
Nearly half of all successful candidates qualified for bachelor’s studies, while 28% earned diploma passes and 13.5% achieved higher certificates.
KwaZulu-Natal emerged as the top-performing province, with the Eastern Cape trailing.
1. KwaZulu-Natal – 90.6%
2. Free State – 89.33%
3. Gauteng – 89.06%
4. North West – 88.49%
5. Western Cape – 88.20%
6. Northern Cape – 87.79%
7. Mpumalanga – 86.55%
8. Limpopo – 86.15%
9. Eastern Cape – 84.17%
While welcoming the progress, Gwarube noted that high dropout levels continue to undermine the education system’s overall health.
She clarified misconceptions around pass mark requirements and outlined ongoing reforms focused on early learning and literacy. Separately, the IEB recorded a slight dip, posting a 98.31% pass rate for 2025.
