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 0.9621 GPIA in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa stood at 0.9621 GPIA. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 136.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa peaked at 0.9621 GPIA in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.0435 GPIA, in 2021.
South Africa ranks 98th of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.9093 GPIA | — |
| 1991 | 0.7044 GPIA | -22.5% |
| 1994 | 0.8444 GPIA | +19.9% |
| 1995 | 0.8609 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 0.8152 GPIA | -5.3% |
| 1999 | 0.8006 GPIA | -1.8% |
| 2000 | 0.8555 GPIA | +6.9% |
| 2001 | 0.8114 GPIA | -5.2% |
| 2002 | 0.781 GPIA | -3.8% |
| 2003 | 0.7953 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 0.8094 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 0.8007 GPIA | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 0.4071 GPIA | -49.2% |
| 2018 | 0.7985 GPIA | +96.1% |
| 2019 | 0.788 GPIA | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 0.8031 GPIA | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 0.0435 GPIA | -94.6% |
| 2022 | 0.9491 GPIA | +2082.9% |
| 2023 | 0.9621 GPIA | +1.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.9621 GPIA is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.973 GPIA, 99% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.9621 GPIA is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9878 GPIA, 97% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +2082.9% | 0.0435 GPIA | 0.9491 GPIA |
| 2018 | +96.1% | 0.4071 GPIA | 0.7985 GPIA |
| 2021 | -94.6% | 0.8031 GPIA | 0.0435 GPIA |
| 2017 | -49.2% | 0.8007 GPIA | 0.4071 GPIA |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.9093 GPIA | 0.9093 GPIA | 0.9093 GPIA | 1 |
| 1990s | 0.8051 GPIA | 0.7044 GPIA | 0.8609 GPIA | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.8089 GPIA | 0.781 GPIA | 0.8555 GPIA | 6 |
| 2010s | 0.6645 GPIA | 0.4071 GPIA | 0.7985 GPIA | 3 |
| 2020s | 0.6894 GPIA | 0.0435 GPIA | 0.9621 GPIA | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 95 Burkina Faso 0.9675 GPIA compare
- 96 Bulgaria 0.9656 GPIA compare
- 97 Canada 0.9635 GPIA compare
- 99 Nicaragua 0.954 GPIA compare
- 100 Dominican Republic 0.9536 GPIA compare
- 101 Uzbekistan 0.9514 GPIA compare
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 0.9621 GPIA in 2023, 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 0.9621 GPIA 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 0.0435 GPIA in 2021.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, adjusted?
- South Africa ranks 98th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- 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 136.3%. 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 of primary school age, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release