Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female was 59.8% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
59.8%
Change on year
down 2.7%
Rank
5th
of 45 groups
All-time high
73.0%
in 1998
All-time low
59.3%
in 2017
Years of data
22
1998–2019

Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1998–2019

0204060801998200820191998: 73 %1999: 72.9 %2000: 72.5 %2001: 71.6 %2002: 70.6 %2003: 69.8 %2004: 68.6 %2005: 68 %2006: 67.6 %2007: 67.7 %2008: 65.2 %2009: 63.7 %2010: 62.3 %2011: 62.2 %2012: 62 %2013: 61 %2014: 60.2 %2015: 60 %2016: 59.7 %2017: 59.3 %2018: 61.5 %2019: 59.8 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/). Measured in %.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 59.8% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in 2019.

That represents a change of down 2.7% on the previous year and down 6.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 73.0% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 59.3%, in 2017.

That places Sub-Saharan Africa 5th out of 45 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1998 to 2019.
Year % Change
1998 73.0%
1999 72.9% -0.1%
2000 72.5% -0.6%
2001 71.6% -1.2%
2002 70.6% -1.4%
2003 69.8% -1.1%
2004 68.6% -1.7%
2005 68.0% -0.8%
2006 67.6% -0.6%
2007 67.7% +0.0%
2008 65.2% -3.7%
2009 63.7% -2.2%
2010 62.3% -2.2%
2011 62.2% -0.2%
2012 62.0% -0.2%
2013 61.0% -1.6%
2014 60.2% -1.3%
2015 60.0% -0.4%
2016 59.7% -0.4%
2017 59.3% -0.7%
2018 61.5% +3.7%
2019 59.8% -2.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 72.9% 72.9% 73.0% 2
2000s 68.5% 63.7% 72.5% 10
2010s 60.8% 59.3% 62.3% 10

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

  1. 2 Chad 85.1% compare
  2. 3 Mali 78.9% compare
  3. 4 Guinea 75.8% compare
  4. 5 Malawi 75.8% compare
  5. 6 Ethiopia 75.2% compare
  6. 7 Mozambique 73.0% compare
  7. 8 Afghanistan 68.7% compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa was 59.8% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/).
What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The highest recorded value was 73.0% in 1998.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 59.3% in 2017.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female?
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 5th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/), published as part of Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/). Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-youth-of-upper-secondary-school-age-female-percent/sub-saharan-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
188 places, 2,990 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

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