Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in South Africa
South Africa: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female was 12.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in South Africa, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 12.8% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.9% on the previous year and down 57.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in South Africa peaked at 34.9% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 12.8%, in 2025.
That places South Africa 119th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
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, female in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 34.5% | — |
| 2001 | 34.5% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 34.9% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 34.8% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 34.5% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 34.5% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 34.5% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 33.7% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 31.9% | -5.3% |
| 2009 | 30.5% | -4.4% |
| 2010 | 29.9% | -2.0% |
| 2011 | 29.8% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 29.7% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 29.4% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 30.1% | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 30.3% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 29.2% | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 25.9% | -11.3% |
| 2018 | 23.4% | -9.7% |
| 2019 | 22.0% | -6.0% |
| 2020 | 20.2% | -8.2% |
| 2021 | 18.3% | -9.4% |
| 2022 | 16.5% | -9.8% |
| 2023 | 15.0% | -9.1% |
| 2024 | 13.9% | -7.3% |
| 2025 | 12.8% | -7.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 12.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 14.7%, 87% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 12.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 51.9%, 25% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 33.8% | 30.5% | 34.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.0% | 22.0% | 30.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.1% | 12.8% | 20.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 116 China 13.3% compare
- 117 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 13.2% compare
- 118 Palestine, State of 13.1% compare
- 120 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 12.7% compare
- 121 Anguilla 12.2% compare
- 122 Albania 11.8% compare
- 122 Tunisia 11.8% compare
- 122 Uzbekistan 11.8% 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 youth of upper secondary school age, female in South Africa?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in South Africa was 12.8% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 34.9% in 2002.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.8% in 2025.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female?
- South Africa ranks 119th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 57.8%. 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, female (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