How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa?

11 years are reported by both, from 1994 to 2018.

Where does this data come from?

UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, male (number). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary

South Africa

612,293 number

in 2018

Sub-Saharan Africa

29.56 million number

in 2019

South Africa rank

9th

Sub-Saharan Africa rank

7th

Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary over time

South Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa

How they compare

Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 29.56 million number against 612,293 number in South Africa, a difference of 28.94 million number.

That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 48.3 times South Africa's.

Across all 11 years both countries report, Sub-Saharan Africa has been ahead every year.

South Africa ranks 9th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th of 148 countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	South Africa	Sub-Saharan Africa	Difference	Ahead
1990s	588,438 number	29.98 million number	29.40 million number	Sub-Saharan Africa
2000s	458,188 number	28.28 million number	27.83 million number	Sub-Saharan Africa
2010s	483,920 number	28.67 million number	28.18 million number	Sub-Saharan Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary, South Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa?: Sub-Saharan Africa, at 29.56 million number against 612,293 number in South Africa as of 2019.
What is the difference in out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary between South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 28.94 million number, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 11 years are reported by both, from 1994 to 2018.
How do South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary?: South Africa ranks 9th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th of 148 countries.
Where does this data come from?: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, male (number). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/out-of-school-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-male/south-africa/sub-saharan-africa/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/out-of-school-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-male/south-africa/sub-saharan-africa/">South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, male (number)
Unit: number
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 193 places, 4,440 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed: 04 September 2026

Number of children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age who are not enrolled or attending school during in a given academic year. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/