Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in South Africa
South Africa: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 0.9846 GPIA in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
0.9846 GPIA
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
72nd
of 169 countries
All-time high
1.4 GPIA
in 2021
All-time low
0.9162 GPIA
in 2018
Years of data
10
1998–2023
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.9846 GPIA for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and down 29.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in South Africa peaked at 1.4 GPIA in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.9162 GPIA, in 2018.
South Africa ranks 72nd of 169 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in South Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0.9513 GPIA | — |
| 1999 | 0.963 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 0.9825 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 1.39 GPIA | +41.6% |
| 2018 | 0.9162 GPIA | -34.1% |
| 2019 | 0.9253 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 1.07 GPIA | +15.8% |
| 2021 | 1.4 GPIA | +30.6% |
| 2022 | 0.9759 GPIA | -30.2% |
| 2023 | 0.9846 GPIA | +0.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.9846 GPIA is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.9497 GPIA, 1.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.9846 GPIA is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9861 GPIA, 100% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.9572 GPIA | 0.9513 GPIA | 0.963 GPIA | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.9825 GPIA | 0.9825 GPIA | 0.9825 GPIA | 1 |
| 2010s | 1.08 GPIA | 0.9162 GPIA | 1.39 GPIA | 3 |
| 2020s | 1.11 GPIA | 0.9759 GPIA | 1.4 GPIA | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 69 Syrian Arab Republic 0.9889 GPIA compare
- 70 Burundi 0.9875 GPIA compare
- 71 Philippines 0.9872 GPIA compare
- 73 New Zealand 0.9831 GPIA compare
- 74 Slovenia 0.9809 GPIA compare
- 75 Solomon Islands 0.9801 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 one year before the official primary in South Africa?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in South Africa was 0.9846 GPIA in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4 GPIA in 2021.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9162 GPIA in 2018.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- South Africa ranks 72nd out of 169 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.2%. 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 one year before the official primary entry age, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release