Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced that the matric class of 2019 achieved a pass rate of 81.3%, up from 78.2% in 2018.
Some 790 000 learners sat for the national senior certificate examinations at over 7 400 venues across the country in November.
The 2019 pass rate exceeded the 80% threshold for the first time.
The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) reported a pass rate of 98.82% for the 2019 National Senior Certificate examinations.
This is a slight decrease from the 98.92% achieved by IEB candidates in 2018.
There were 11 818 full-time candidates for the IEB examinations last year, as well as 779 part-time learners.
IEB candidates also did well when it came to passing well enough to go to university, with nearly 90% qualifying to study at a tertiary institution.