Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted in South Africa
South Africa: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted was 0.7191 modelled data in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.7191 modelled data
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
156th
of 205 countries
All-time high
1.04 modelled data
in 2000
All-time low
0.7165 modelled data
in 2024
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary 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 youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted in South Africa is 0.7191 modelled data, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and down 27.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted in South Africa peaked at 1.04 modelled data in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.7165 modelled data, in 2024.
That places South Africa 156th out of 205 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted in South Africa, year by year
| Year | modelled data | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.04 modelled data | — |
| 2001 | 1.03 modelled data | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 1.02 modelled data | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 1.02 modelled data | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 1.01 modelled data | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 1.02 modelled data | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 1.01 modelled data | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 1.01 modelled data | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 0.9938 modelled data | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 1 modelled data | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 1.01 modelled data | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 1.01 modelled data | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 0.9933 modelled data | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 0.9932 modelled data | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.01 modelled data | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 0.9934 modelled data | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 0.9605 modelled data | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 0.8962 modelled data | -6.7% |
| 2018 | 0.8448 modelled data | -5.7% |
| 2019 | 0.8029 modelled data | -5.0% |
| 2020 | 0.7652 modelled data | -4.7% |
| 2021 | 0.7409 modelled data | -3.2% |
| 2022 | 0.7333 modelled data | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 0.7177 modelled data | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 0.7165 modelled data | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 0.7191 modelled data | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.7191 modelled data is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.8436 modelled data, 85% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.7191 modelled data is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1 modelled data, 72% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.02 modelled data | 0.9938 modelled data | 1.04 modelled data | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9514 modelled data | 0.8029 modelled data | 1.01 modelled data | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7321 modelled data | 0.7165 modelled data | 0.7652 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 youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted in South Africa?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted in South Africa was 0.7191 modelled data in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.04 modelled data in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7165 modelled data in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted?
- South Africa ranks 156th out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, adjusted rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.6%. 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 youth of upper secondary 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