Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both was 68.59 million number in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
68.59 million number
Change on year
up 0.7%
Rank
11th
of 45 groups
All-time high
68.59 million number
in 2019
All-time low
26.00 million number
in 1970
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970–2019

020.0M40.0M60.0M197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 68.59 million number for out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 23.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 68.59 million number in 2019 and was at its lowest, 26.00 million number, in 1970.

Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 11th of 45 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.

Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both sexes (number) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970 to 2019.
Year number Change
1970 26.00 million number
1971 26.83 million number +3.2%
1972 27.38 million number +2.1%
1973 28.05 million number +2.4%
1974 28.70 million number +2.3%
1975 29.34 million number +2.2%
1976 29.99 million number +2.2%
1977 30.55 million number +1.9%
1978 31.00 million number +1.5%
1979 31.47 million number +1.5%
1980 32.10 million number +2.0%
1981 32.70 million number +1.9%
1982 32.58 million number -0.4%
1983 33.53 million number +2.9%
1984 34.62 million number +3.2%
1985 35.55 million number +2.7%
1986 36.77 million number +3.4%
1987 37.70 million number +2.5%
1988 38.82 million number +3.0%
1989 40.34 million number +3.9%
1990 41.56 million number +3.0%
1991 42.85 million number +3.1%
1992 44.40 million number +3.6%
1993 45.54 million number +2.6%
1994 47.24 million number +3.7%
1995 47.98 million number +1.6%
1996 49.37 million number +2.9%
1997 50.31 million number +1.9%
1998 51.00 million number +1.4%
1999 51.86 million number +1.7%
2000 52.70 million number +1.6%
2001 53.39 million number +1.3%
2002 53.41 million number +0.0%
2003 53.82 million number +0.8%
2004 54.04 million number +0.4%
2005 54.45 million number +0.8%
2006 54.95 million number +0.9%
2007 56.09 million number +2.1%
2008 55.55 million number -1.0%
2009 55.72 million number +0.3%
2010 55.48 million number -0.4%
2011 56.77 million number +2.3%
2012 58.02 million number +2.2%
2013 59.39 million number +2.4%
2014 61.23 million number +3.1%
2015 62.95 million number +2.8%
2016 64.16 million number +1.9%
2017 65.16 million number +1.6%
2018 68.15 million number +4.6%
2019 68.59 million number +0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 28.93 million number 26.00 million number 31.47 million number 10
1980s 35.47 million number 32.10 million number 40.34 million number 10
1990s 47.21 million number 41.56 million number 51.86 million number 10
2000s 54.41 million number 52.70 million number 56.09 million number 10
2010s 61.99 million number 55.48 million number 68.59 million number 10

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

  1. 8 Myanmar 1.73 million number compare
  2. 9 Syrian Arab Republic 1.71 million number compare
  3. 10 Mozambique 1.69 million number compare
  4. 11 Mali 1.61 million number compare
  5. 12 Yemen 1.56 million number compare
  6. 13 Cameroon 1.53 million number compare
  7. 14 Iraq 1.45 million number compare

See the full ranking of 187 places →

More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both in Sub-Saharan Africa was 68.59 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The highest recorded value was 68.59 million number in 2019.
What is the lowest out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 26.00 million number in 1970.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both?
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 11th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 23.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both in Sub-Saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-adolescents-and-youth-of-secondary-school-age-both-sexes-number/sub-saharan-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-adolescents-and-youth-of-secondary-school-age-both-sexes-number/sub-saharan-africa/">Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both in Sub-Saharan Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
187 places, 4,335 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Number of adolescents and youth of 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/