South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa: School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes

South Africa
4.68 million number
in 2019
Sub-Saharan Africa
80.40 million number
in 2019
South Africa rank
14th
Sub-Saharan Africa rank
15th

School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes over time

  • South Africa
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M197019942019

How they compare

Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 80.40 million number against 4.68 million number in South Africa, a difference of 75.71 million number.

That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 17.2 times South Africa's.

Across all 50 years both countries report, Sub-Saharan Africa has been ahead every year.

South Africa ranks 14th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 15th of 206 countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Difference Ahead
1970s 718,004 number 27.89 million number 27.18 million number Sub-Saharan Africa
1980s 918,639 number 37.34 million number 36.43 million number Sub-Saharan Africa
1990s 1.06 million number 47.93 million number 46.86 million number Sub-Saharan Africa
2000s 966,495 number 55.54 million number 54.57 million number Sub-Saharan Africa
2010s 2.50 million number 71.46 million number 68.96 million number Sub-Saharan Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes, South Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa?
Sub-Saharan Africa, at 80.40 million number against 4.68 million number in South Africa as of 2019.
What is the difference in school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes between South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa?
75.71 million number, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa?
50 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2019.
How do South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes?
South Africa ranks 14th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 15th of 206 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa: School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/school-age-population-pre-primary-education-both-sexes-number/south-africa/sub-saharan-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
251 places, 12,152 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to pre-primary education as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration.