Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa
South Africa: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 0.8228 modelled data in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.8228 modelled data
Change on year
up 2.5%
World rank
139th
of 205 countries
All-time high
0.9701 modelled data
in 2012
All-time low
0.7143 modelled data
in 2020
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in modelled data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa is 0.8228 modelled data, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 2.5% on the previous year and down 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa peaked at 0.9701 modelled data in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.7143 modelled data, in 2020.
That places South Africa 139th out of 205 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa, year by year
| Year | modelled data | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.9006 modelled data | — |
| 2001 | 0.8922 modelled data | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 0.8795 modelled data | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 0.8772 modelled data | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 0.8757 modelled data | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.8395 modelled data | -4.1% |
| 2006 | 0.8456 modelled data | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 0.8731 modelled data | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 0.8881 modelled data | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 0.8777 modelled data | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 0.8806 modelled data | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.9141 modelled data | +3.8% |
| 2012 | 0.9701 modelled data | +6.1% |
| 2013 | 0.9638 modelled data | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 0.881 modelled data | -8.6% |
| 2015 | 0.8362 modelled data | -5.1% |
| 2016 | 0.7931 modelled data | -5.2% |
| 2017 | 0.7607 modelled data | -4.1% |
| 2018 | 0.7387 modelled data | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 0.7184 modelled data | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 0.7143 modelled data | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 0.7158 modelled data | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 0.7191 modelled data | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 0.747 modelled data | +3.9% |
| 2024 | 0.8025 modelled data | +7.4% |
| 2025 | 0.8228 modelled data | +2.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.8228 modelled data is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.9258 modelled data, 89% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.8228 modelled data is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9392 modelled data, 88% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.8749 modelled data | 0.8395 modelled data | 0.9006 modelled data | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8457 modelled data | 0.7184 modelled data | 0.9701 modelled data | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7536 modelled data | 0.7143 modelled data | 0.8228 modelled data | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 137 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.8286 modelled data compare
- 138 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 0.8261 modelled data compare
- 140 Botswana 0.819 modelled data compare
- 141 Costa Rica 0.8125 modelled data compare
- 142 Malawi 0.8089 modelled data compare
More education data for South Africa
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 181,739 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 339,638 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 410,708 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 407,696 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.50 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.119 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa was 0.8228 modelled data in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9701 modelled data in 2012.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7143 modelled data in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- South Africa ranks 139th out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) (modelled data). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release