Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below in South Africa

South Africa: Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below was 0.4% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
0.4%
Change on year
down 6.0%
World rank
87th
of 104 countries
All-time high
0.6%
in 2001
All-time low
0.3%
in 2002
Years of data
20
1995–2020

Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below in South Africa, 1995–2020

00.20.40.61995200720201995: 0.436 % of youth labor force with low education2000: 0.532 % of youth labor force with low education2001: 0.55 % of youth labor force with low education2002: 0.266 % of youth labor force with low education2003: 0.448 % of youth labor force with low education2004: 0.535 % of youth labor force with low education2006: 0.35 % of youth labor force with low education2007: 0.322 % of youth labor force with low education2008: 0.519 % of youth labor force with low education2009: 0.479 % of youth labor force with low education2010: 0.456 % of youth labor force with low education2011: 0.483 % of youth labor force with low education2013: 0.463 % of youth labor force with low education2014: 0.449 % of youth labor force with low education2015: 0.472 % of youth labor force with low education2016: 0.448 % of youth labor force with low education2017: 0.449 % of youth labor force with low education2018: 0.449 % of youth labor force with low education2019: 0.407 % of youth labor force with low education2020: 0.383 % of youth labor force with low education

Source: World Bank. Measured in % of youth labor force with low education.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 0.4% for youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below in 2020.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.0% on the previous year and down 16.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below in South Africa peaked at 0.6% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2002.

That places South Africa 87th out of 104 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.

Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below (% of youth labor force with low education) in South Africa, 1995 to 2020.
Year % of youth labor force with low education Change
1995 0.4%
2000 0.5% +22.0%
2001 0.6% +3.4%
2002 0.3% -51.6%
2003 0.4% +68.3%
2004 0.5% +19.4%
2006 0.3% -34.7%
2007 0.3% -7.9%
2008 0.5% +61.3%
2009 0.5% -7.6%
2010 0.5% -5.0%
2011 0.5% +6.1%
2013 0.5% -4.2%
2014 0.4% -3.1%
2015 0.5% +5.2%
2016 0.4% -5.1%
2017 0.4% +0.2%
2018 0.4% +0.1%
2019 0.4% -9.3%
2020 0.4% -6.0%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 0.4% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.8%, 47% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 0.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.0%, 40% of the median. (19 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2003 +68.3% 0.3% 0.4%
2008 +61.3% 0.3% 0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
2000s 0.4% 0.3% 0.6% 9
2010s 0.5% 0.4% 0.5% 9
2020s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 85 Gambia 0.4% compare
  2. 86 Estonia 0.4% compare
  3. 88 Portugal 0.3% compare
  4. 89 Ireland 0.3% compare
  5. 90 Djibouti 0.3% compare

See the full ranking of 104 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below in South Africa?
Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below in South Africa was 0.4% in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.6% in 2001.
What is the lowest youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2002.
How does South Africa rank for youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below?
South Africa ranks 87th out of 104 countries with data for 2020.
Is youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 16.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below (% of youth labor force with low education). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below in South Africa. Statizoid. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/youth-employment-rate-aged-15-24-primary-education-and-below-percent-of-youth-labor-force/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Youth employment rate, aged 15-24, primary education and below (% of youth labor force with low education)
Unit
% of youth labor force with low education
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
104 places, 1,416 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed