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 2.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa, 2016–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa stood at 2.9%. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.
That represents a change of down 20.3% on the previous year and down 27.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa peaked at 3.9% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2024.
South Africa ranks 36th of 45 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3.9% | — |
| 2020 | 3.0% | -22.4% |
| 2021 | 3.0% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 3.6% | +18.6% |
| 2023 | 3.6% | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 2.9% | -20.3% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 2.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.8%, 60% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 2.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 26.3%, 11% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 3.9% | 3.9% | 3.9% | 1 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 2.9% | 3.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
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 2.9% in 2024, 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 3.9% in 2016.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- South Africa ranks 36th out of 45 countries with data for 2024.
- 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 27.2%. 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, rural, male (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release