Youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural in South Africa

South Africa: Youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural was 0.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
0.7%
Change on year
up 6.8%
World rank
2nd
of 94 countries
All-time high
0.8%
in 2002
All-time low
0.4%
in 2000
Years of data
19
1995–2020

Youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural in South Africa, 1995–2020

00.20.40.60.81995200720201995: 0.588 % of rural youth labor force2000: 0.422 % of rural youth labor force2001: 0.459 % of rural youth labor force2002: 0.772 % of rural youth labor force2003: 0.536 % of rural youth labor force2004: 0.538 % of rural youth labor force2008: 0.496 % of rural youth labor force2009: 0.524 % of rural youth labor force2010: 0.535 % of rural youth labor force2011: 0.53 % of rural youth labor force2012: 0.563 % of rural youth labor force2013: 0.513 % of rural youth labor force2014: 0.513 % of rural youth labor force2015: 0.521 % of rural youth labor force2016: 0.536 % of rural youth labor force2017: 0.57 % of rural youth labor force2018: 0.586 % of rural youth labor force2019: 0.614 % of rural youth labor force2020: 0.656 % of rural youth labor force

Source: World Bank. Measured in % of rural youth labor force.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 0.7% for youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural in 2020.

The figure is up 6.8% on the previous year and up 22.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural in South Africa peaked at 0.8% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2000.

That places South Africa 2nd out of 94 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.

Youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural (% of rural youth labor force) in South Africa, 1995 to 2020.
Year % of rural youth labor force Change
1995 0.6%
2000 0.4% -28.2%
2001 0.5% +8.8%
2002 0.8% +68.1%
2003 0.5% -30.6%
2004 0.5% +0.4%
2008 0.5% -7.8%
2009 0.5% +5.7%
2010 0.5% +2.0%
2011 0.5% -0.9%
2012 0.6% +6.2%
2013 0.5% -8.8%
2014 0.5% -0.0%
2015 0.5% +1.5%
2016 0.5% +2.9%
2017 0.6% +6.3%
2018 0.6% +2.8%
2019 0.6% +4.8%
2020 0.7% +6.8%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 0.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.1%, 5.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 0.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.0%, 14.8× the median. (13 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural 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
2002 +68.1% 0.5% 0.8%
2003 -30.6% 0.8% 0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 1
2000s 0.5% 0.4% 0.8% 7
2010s 0.5% 0.5% 0.6% 10
2020s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 1 Gambia 0.7% compare
  2. 3 Kosovo 0.6% compare
  3. 3 Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) 0.6% compare
  4. 5 Djibouti 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 94 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural in South Africa?
Youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural in South Africa was 0.7% in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.8% in 2002.
What is the lowest youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2000.
How does South Africa rank for youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural?
South Africa ranks 2nd out of 94 countries with data for 2020.
Is youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 22.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural (% of rural youth labor force). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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

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About this data

Indicator
Youth unemployment rate, aged 15-24, rural (% of rural youth labor force)
Unit
% of rural youth labor force
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
94 places, 1,311 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed