Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in South Africa

South Africa: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes was 20.6% in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
20.6%
Change on year
up 23.0%
World rank
69th
of 147 countries
All-time high
31.6%
in 2001
All-time low
12.5%
in 2015
Years of data
11
1994–2018

Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in South Africa, 1994–2018

01020301994200620181994: 22.3 %1999: 30.2 %2000: 30.6 %2001: 31.6 %2002: 27.3 %2003: 26.6 %2004: 27.1 %2005: 26.8 %2015: 12.5 %2017: 16.8 %2018: 20.6 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in South Africa is 20.6%, measured in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 23.0% on the previous year and down 22.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in South Africa peaked at 31.6% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 12.5%, in 2015.

South Africa ranks 69th of 147 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (%) in South Africa, 1994 to 2018.
Year % Change
1994 22.3%
1999 30.2% +35.3%
2000 30.6% +1.6%
2001 31.6% +3.1%
2002 27.3% -13.5%
2003 26.6% -2.6%
2004 27.1% +1.9%
2005 26.8% -1.3%
2015 12.5% -53.4%
2017 16.8% +34.6%
2018 20.6% +23.0%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 20.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 20.9%, 99% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 20.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 48.7%, 42% of the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 26.2% 22.3% 30.2% 2
2000s 28.3% 26.6% 31.6% 6
2010s 16.6% 12.5% 20.6% 3

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 66 Mauritius 21.0% compare
  2. 67 Thailand 20.9% compare
  3. 68 Saint Lucia 20.7% compare
  4. 70 Philippines 20.5% compare
  5. 71 Romania 19.9% compare
  6. 72 Ecuador 19.7% compare

See the full ranking of 192 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in South Africa?
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in South Africa was 20.6% in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 31.6% in 2001.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 12.5% in 2015.
How does South Africa rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes?
South Africa ranks 69th out of 147 countries with data for 2018.
Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 22.9%. 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 rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 11 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 rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-youth-of-upper-secondary-school-age-both-sexes-percent/south-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-rate-for-youth-of-upper-secondary-school-age-both-sexes-percent/south-africa/">Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
192 places, 3,194 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Number of youth of official upper secondary school age who are not enrolled in upper secondary school expressed as a percentage of the population of official upper secondary school age.