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 48.01 million number in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
48.01 million number
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
11th
of 45 groups
All-time high
48.01 million number
in 2019
All-time low
25.96 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

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M50.0M197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 48.01 million number for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 21.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 48.01 million number in 2019 and was at its lowest, 25.96 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 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, male (number) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970 to 2019.
Year number Change
1970 25.96 million number
1971 26.56 million number +2.3%
1972 27.02 million number +1.7%
1973 27.47 million number +1.7%
1974 27.73 million number +1.0%
1975 27.96 million number +0.8%
1976 28.39 million number +1.5%
1977 28.46 million number +0.2%
1978 28.52 million number +0.2%
1979 28.33 million number -0.6%
1980 28.34 million number +0.0%
1981 28.38 million number +0.1%
1982 28.37 million number -0.0%
1983 29.03 million number +2.3%
1984 30.14 million number +3.8%
1985 31.36 million number +4.0%
1986 32.96 million number +5.1%
1987 34.32 million number +4.1%
1988 35.72 million number +4.1%
1989 36.59 million number +2.4%
1990 37.95 million number +3.7%
1991 38.71 million number +2.0%
1992 40.02 million number +3.4%
1993 40.88 million number +2.2%
1994 41.97 million number +2.7%
1995 42.06 million number +0.2%
1996 43.57 million number +3.6%
1997 43.19 million number -0.9%
1998 43.64 million number +1.1%
1999 44.26 million number +1.4%
2000 43.80 million number -1.0%
2001 43.33 million number -1.1%
2002 42.61 million number -1.7%
2003 41.85 million number -1.8%
2004 41.43 million number -1.0%
2005 40.77 million number -1.6%
2006 40.46 million number -0.8%
2007 39.54 million number -2.3%
2008 39.32 million number -0.5%
2009 39.61 million number +0.7%
2010 40.24 million number +1.6%
2011 40.43 million number +0.5%
2012 41.50 million number +2.6%
2013 41.97 million number +1.1%
2014 43.19 million number +2.9%
2015 44.45 million number +2.9%
2016 45.21 million number +1.7%
2017 46.03 million number +1.8%
2018 47.86 million number +4.0%
2019 48.01 million number +0.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 27.64 million number 25.96 million number 28.52 million number 10
1980s 31.52 million number 28.34 million number 36.59 million number 10
1990s 41.62 million number 37.95 million number 44.26 million number 10
2000s 41.27 million number 39.32 million number 43.80 million number 10
2010s 43.89 million number 40.24 million number 48.01 million number 10

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

  1. 8 Chad 1.04 million number compare
  2. 9 Cote d'Ivoire 957,509 number compare
  3. 10 Myanmar 936,176 number compare
  4. 11 Mozambique 927,356 number compare
  5. 12 South Africa 926,772 number compare
  6. 13 Yemen 857,780 number compare
  7. 14 Kenya 837,895 number compare

See the full ranking of 181 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 48.01 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 48.01 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 25.96 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 11th 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 21.2%. 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, male (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 17 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-and-secondary-school-age-male/sub-saharan-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, male (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
181 places, 4,156 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/