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 15.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa, 1994–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa stood at 15.1%. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of down 18.2% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa peaked at 37.7% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 15.1%, in 2023.
That places South Africa 106th 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 15 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 19.6% | — |
| 1999 | 33.2% | +69.5% |
| 2000 | 34.7% | +4.4% |
| 2001 | 37.7% | +8.7% |
| 2002 | 34.8% | -7.8% |
| 2003 | 34.6% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 34.8% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 33.7% | -3.3% |
| 2015 | 16.3% | -51.5% |
| 2017 | 27.5% | +68.2% |
| 2018 | 22.7% | -17.3% |
| 2019 | 21.9% | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 19.1% | -12.8% |
| 2021 | 18.4% | -3.9% |
| 2023 | 15.1% | -18.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 15.1% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 23.3%, 65% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 15.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 52.1%, 29% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 26.4% | 19.6% | 33.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 35.0% | 33.7% | 37.7% | 6 |
| 2010s | 22.1% | 16.3% | 27.5% | 4 |
| 2020s | 17.5% | 15.1% | 19.1% | 3 |
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, male in South Africa?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in South Africa was 15.1% in 2023, 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 37.7% in 2001.
- 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 15.1% in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male?
- South Africa ranks 106th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- 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 7.7%. 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 (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release