Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and was 102.40 million number in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
102.40 million number
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
9th
of 45 groups
All-time high
102.40 million number
in 2019
All-time low
56.54 million number
in 1970
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970–2019

025.0M50.0M75.0M100.0M197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

The most recent figure for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Sub-Saharan Africa is 102.40 million number, measured in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 18.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 102.40 million number in 2019 and was at its lowest, 56.54 million number, in 1970.

Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 9th 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, both sexes (number) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970 to 2019.
Year number Change
1970 56.54 million number
1971 57.82 million number +2.3%
1972 58.81 million number +1.7%
1973 59.75 million number +1.6%
1974 60.37 million number +1.0%
1975 60.88 million number +0.8%
1976 61.78 million number +1.5%
1977 61.83 million number +0.1%
1978 61.81 million number -0.0%
1979 61.37 million number -0.7%
1980 61.41 million number +0.1%
1981 61.49 million number +0.1%
1982 61.29 million number -0.3%
1983 62.82 million number +2.5%
1984 65.21 million number +3.8%
1985 67.87 million number +4.1%
1986 71.21 million number +4.9%
1987 74.19 million number +4.2%
1988 77.06 million number +3.9%
1989 79.24 million number +2.8%
1990 82.12 million number +3.6%
1991 83.67 million number +1.9%
1992 86.56 million number +3.5%
1993 88.46 million number +2.2%
1994 90.96 million number +2.8%
1995 91.97 million number +1.1%
1996 95.46 million number +3.8%
1997 94.71 million number -0.8%
1998 95.62 million number +1.0%
1999 96.59 million number +1.0%
2000 95.80 million number -0.8%
2001 95.00 million number -0.8%
2002 93.94 million number -1.1%
2003 92.30 million number -1.7%
2004 91.20 million number -1.2%
2005 89.75 million number -1.6%
2006 88.74 million number -1.1%
2007 87.62 million number -1.3%
2008 86.62 million number -1.1%
2009 86.71 million number +0.1%
2010 87.79 million number +1.2%
2011 88.07 million number +0.3%
2012 89.60 million number +1.7%
2013 90.67 million number +1.2%
2014 92.85 million number +2.4%
2015 95.56 million number +2.9%
2016 96.85 million number +1.4%
2017 98.20 million number +1.4%
2018 102.12 million number +4.0%
2019 102.40 million number +0.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 60.09 million number 56.54 million number 61.83 million number 10
1980s 68.18 million number 61.29 million number 79.24 million number 10
1990s 90.61 million number 82.12 million number 96.59 million number 10
2000s 90.77 million number 86.62 million number 95.80 million number 10
2010s 94.41 million number 87.79 million number 102.40 million number 10

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

  1. 6 Burkina Faso 2.51 million number compare
  2. 7 Mexico 2.37 million number compare
  3. 8 Côte d'Ivoire 2.24 million number compare
  4. 9 Syrian Arab Republic 2.23 million number compare
  5. 10 Yemen 2.21 million number compare
  6. 11 Mozambique 2.15 million number compare
  7. 12 Kenya 1.92 million number compare

See the full ranking of 184 places →

More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Sub-Saharan Africa was 102.40 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The highest recorded value was 102.40 million number in 2019.
What is the lowest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 56.54 million number in 1970.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and?
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 18.1%. 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Sub-Saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-and-secondary-school-age-both/sub-saharan-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
184 places, 4,255 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Number of children, adolescents, and youth of primary, lower secondary, and upper 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/