Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in South Africa
South Africa: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 8.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in South Africa, 1994–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 8.4% for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in 2023.
That represents a change of up 101.9% on the previous year and up 11.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in South Africa peaked at 23.3% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 4.2%, in 2022.
That places South Africa 90th out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 14.4% | — |
| 1999 | 21.3% | +48.2% |
| 2000 | 22.9% | +7.3% |
| 2001 | 23.3% | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 21.4% | -7.9% |
| 2003 | 20.3% | -5.0% |
| 2004 | 19.5% | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 18.7% | -4.2% |
| 2015 | 7.5% | -59.8% |
| 2017 | 13.1% | +73.7% |
| 2018 | 12.5% | -4.7% |
| 2019 | 11.1% | -10.6% |
| 2020 | 10.4% | -6.5% |
| 2021 | 7.4% | -28.9% |
| 2022 | 4.2% | -43.7% |
| 2023 | 8.4% | +101.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 8.4% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.8%, 95% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 8.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 23.5%, 36% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | +101.9% | 4.2% | 8.4% |
| 2017 | +73.7% | 7.5% | 13.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.9% | 14.4% | 21.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 21.0% | 18.7% | 23.3% | 6 |
| 2010s | 11.0% | 7.5% | 13.1% | 4 |
| 2020s | 7.6% | 4.2% | 10.4% | 4 |
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 children, adolescents and youth of primary in South Africa?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in South Africa was 8.4% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 23.3% in 2001.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.2% in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- South Africa ranks 90th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.8%. 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release