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

South Africa: Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and was 797,795 number in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
797,795 number
Change on year
up 54.8%
World rank
17th
of 137 countries
All-time high
929,497 number
in 2000
All-time low
270,650 number
in 2015
Years of data
11
1994–2018

Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in South Africa, 1994–2018

200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k1.0M1994200620181994: 690.2k number1999: 814.3k number2000: 929.5k number2001: 915.9k number2002: 799.1k number2003: 726.5k number2004: 684.0k number2005: 655.8k number2015: 270.6k number2017: 515.5k number2018: 797.8k number

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 797,795 number for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 54.8% on the previous year and up 21.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in South Africa peaked at 929,497 number in 2000 and was at its lowest, 270,650 number, in 2015.

South Africa ranks 17th of 137 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.

Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, female (number) in South Africa, 1994 to 2018.
Year number Change
1994 690,159 number
1999 814,337 number +18.0%
2000 929,497 number +14.1%
2001 915,857 number -1.5%
2002 799,134 number -12.7%
2003 726,513 number -9.1%
2004 683,974 number -5.9%
2005 655,751 number -4.1%
2015 270,650 number -58.7%
2017 515,470 number +90.5%
2018 797,795 number +54.8%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 797,795 number is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 45,264 number, 17.6× the median. (39 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 797,795 number is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 385,769 number, 2.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 752,248 number 690,159 number 814,337 number 2
2000s 785,121 number 655,751 number 929,497 number 6
2010s 527,972 number 270,650 number 797,795 number 3

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 14 Cameroon 1.00 million number compare
  2. 15 Myanmar 887,937 number compare
  3. 16 Guinea 842,734 number compare
  4. 18 Türkiye 775,507 number compare
  5. 19 Guatemala 666,563 number compare
  6. 20 Egypt 646,941 number compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in South Africa?
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in South Africa was 797,795 number in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 929,497 number in 2000.
What is the lowest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 270,650 number in 2015.
How does South Africa rank for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and?
South Africa ranks 17th out of 137 countries with data for 2018.
Is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.7%. 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-and-secondary-school-age-female/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, female (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
182 places, 4,161 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/