Roughly 18.5 million South Africans between 15 and 64 were not in education, employment or training in the first quarter of this year.
These are people who are commonly referred to as NEETs. More than 16 million black people fell in the NEET category in the first quarter of 2023, accounting for the highest proportion by race in the country.
The Western Cape – the third largest of the nine provinces, by population – had by far the lowest NEET rate.
The first quarter NEET data, drawn from the IRR and from South Africa’s statistical agency, Statistics SA, is contained in the latest report by the Social Research Foundation, a think-tank focusing on public policy issues and the promotion of democracy.
The following graph provides an outline of the national NEET population by age. The national NEET rate was roughly 46.5%.
When broken down by race, the NEET rate for black people was by far the highest, at 49.7%. For coloured people it was 40.3%, for Indian people, 34%, and for white people, 22.8%.
Across the provinces, the NEET rate was highest in the Eastern Cape (57.3%), and lowest in the Western Cape (34.6%). It was 43.7% in the Free State, 40.7% in Gauteng, 51.1% in KwaZulu-Natal, 54.1% in Limpopo, 47.5% in Mpumalanga, 53.3% in the Northern Cape, and 54.8% in North West.
