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 9.1% 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 9.1% for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in 2023.
The figure is up 134.0% on the previous year and down 7.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in South Africa peaked at 24.5% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 3.9%, in 2022.
South Africa ranks 85th of 171 countries on this measure, 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 | 16.5% | — |
| 1999 | 22.8% | +38.3% |
| 2000 | 23.9% | +4.5% |
| 2001 | 24.5% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 22.6% | -7.6% |
| 2003 | 21.6% | -4.8% |
| 2004 | 20.7% | -4.0% |
| 2005 | 19.9% | -4.0% |
| 2015 | 9.8% | -50.6% |
| 2017 | 14.2% | +45.1% |
| 2018 | 13.7% | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 12.1% | -11.5% |
| 2020 | 11.6% | -4.4% |
| 2021 | 10.4% | -10.2% |
| 2022 | 3.9% | -62.6% |
| 2023 | 9.1% | +134.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 9.1% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.3%, 98% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 9.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 25.6%, 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 | +134.0% | 3.9% | 9.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.7% | 16.5% | 22.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 22.2% | 19.9% | 24.5% | 6 |
| 2010s | 12.5% | 9.8% | 14.2% | 4 |
| 2020s | 8.7% | 3.9% | 11.6% | 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 9.1% 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 24.5% 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 3.9% in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- South Africa ranks 85th out of 171 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 down 7.4%. 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, male (%). 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