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 21.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in South Africa stood at 21.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.7% on the previous year and down 28.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in South Africa peaked at 62.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 20.8%, in 2020.
That places South Africa 70th out of 179 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling 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 | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 36.9% | — |
| 1999 | 43.9% | +19.2% |
| 2000 | 62.9% | +43.2% |
| 2015 | 29.6% | -53.0% |
| 2018 | 23.0% | -22.1% |
| 2019 | 23.4% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 20.8% | -10.9% |
| 2021 | 30.1% | +44.8% |
| 2022 | 22.5% | -25.3% |
| 2023 | 21.2% | -5.7% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 21.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 14.6%, 1.5× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 21.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 43.8%, 48% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 40.4% | 36.9% | 43.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 62.9% | 62.9% | 62.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 25.3% | 23.0% | 29.6% | 3 |
| 2020s | 23.7% | 20.8% | 30.1% | 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 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 21.2% 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 62.9% in 2000.
- 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 20.8% in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- South Africa ranks 70th out of 179 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 28.3%. 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 one year before the official primary entry age, both sexes (%). 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