Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa
South Africa: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male was 17.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa is 17.8%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 8.2% on the previous year and down 41.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa peaked at 34.1% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 17.8%, in 2025.
South Africa ranks 111th of 206 countries on this measure, 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, male in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 33.1% | — |
| 2001 | 33.5% | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 34.1% | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 34.1% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 34.0% | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 33.8% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 34.1% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 33.5% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 32.1% | -4.2% |
| 2009 | 30.4% | -5.3% |
| 2010 | 29.5% | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 29.5% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 29.9% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 29.6% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 29.9% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 30.5% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 30.4% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 28.9% | -4.9% |
| 2018 | 27.7% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 27.4% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 26.4% | -3.6% |
| 2021 | 24.7% | -6.4% |
| 2022 | 22.5% | -8.9% |
| 2023 | 20.9% | -7.1% |
| 2024 | 19.4% | -7.2% |
| 2025 | 17.8% | -8.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 17.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 20.0%, 89% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 17.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 50.2%, 35% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 33.3% | 30.4% | 34.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.3% | 27.4% | 30.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.9% | 17.8% | 26.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 108 Cape Verde 19.1% compare
- 109 Singapore 18.8% compare
- 110 Morocco 18.4% compare
- 112 Cook Islands 16.5% compare
- 113 Iceland 16.4% compare
- 113 Macau, China 16.4% 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, male in South Africa?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa was 17.8% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 34.1% in 2002.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.8% in 2025.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male?
- South Africa ranks 111th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.6%. 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, male (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