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 6.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
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 6.4%. That is the highest value across all 6 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 70.3% on the previous year and up 30.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa peaked at 6.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 2020.
South Africa ranks 22nd of 46 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4.9% | — |
| 2020 | 2.7% | -45.0% |
| 2021 | 3.1% | +14.1% |
| 2022 | 5.9% | +90.9% |
| 2023 | 3.8% | -36.0% |
| 2024 | 6.4% | +70.3% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 6.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.4%, 1.9× the median. (14 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 6.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 11.4%, 56% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 1 |
| 2020s | 4.4% | 2.7% | 6.4% | 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 6.4% 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 6.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- South Africa ranks 22nd out of 46 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 up 30.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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, urban, 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