Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa
South Africa: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted was 0.9167 modelled data in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.9167 modelled data
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
116th
of 204 countries
All-time high
0.9265 modelled data
in 2023
All-time low
0.7816 modelled data
in 2015
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted 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 children of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa is 0.9167 modelled data, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and up 17.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa peaked at 0.9265 modelled data in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.7816 modelled data, in 2015.
That places South Africa 116th out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa, year by year
| Year | modelled data | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.8153 modelled data | — |
| 2001 | 0.8013 modelled data | -1.7% |
| 2002 | 0.7972 modelled data | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 0.7836 modelled data | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 0.8 modelled data | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 0.825 modelled data | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 0.8348 modelled data | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 0.8364 modelled data | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 0.8462 modelled data | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 0.85 modelled data | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 0.8557 modelled data | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 0.8316 modelled data | -2.8% |
| 2012 | 0.8111 modelled data | -2.5% |
| 2013 | 0.7955 modelled data | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 0.7841 modelled data | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 0.7816 modelled data | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 0.7907 modelled data | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 0.8118 modelled data | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 0.8235 modelled data | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 0.8434 modelled data | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 0.8625 modelled data | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 0.8816 modelled data | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 0.9028 modelled data | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 0.9265 modelled data | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 0.9219 modelled data | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 0.9167 modelled data | -0.6% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.9167 modelled data is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.9199 modelled data, 100% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.9167 modelled data is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9519 modelled data, 96% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.819 modelled data | 0.7836 modelled data | 0.85 modelled data | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8129 modelled data | 0.7816 modelled data | 0.8557 modelled data | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.902 modelled data | 0.8625 modelled data | 0.9265 modelled data | 6 |
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 of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa was 0.9167 modelled data in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9265 modelled data in 2023.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7816 modelled data in 2015.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted?
- South Africa ranks 116th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.3%. 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 children of primary school age, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) (modelled data). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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