South Africa
Global Child Index — Beta v1.1
Score
78.4 / 100
Rank
#116
Data coverage
100%
Domain scores
Health & Nutrition
83.8
Education
85.4
Poverty & Water
75.3
Adolescent & Digital
76.2
Protection
65.9
Environment & Exposure
81.1
Indicators
| Indicator | Value | Year | Score / 100 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under-5 mortality rate | 35.10 | 2024 | 86.0 | UN IGME via World Bank |
| Stunting prevalence (under-5) | 21.30 | 2017 | 78.7 | UNICEF/WHO/World Bank JME via World Bank |
| Immunization, DTP3 | 74.00 | 2024 | 74.0 | WHO/UNICEF (WUENIC) via World Bank |
| Wasting prevalence (under-5) | 3.60 | 2017 | 96.4 | UNICEF/WHO/World Bank JME via World Bank |
| Primary school enrolment (net) | 87.01 | 2017 | 87.0 | UNESCO UIS via World Bank |
| Secondary school enrolment (net) | 71.93 | 2017 | 71.9 | UNESCO UIS via World Bank |
| Youth literacy rate (15–24) | 97.17 | 2024 | 97.2 | UNESCO UIS via World Bank |
| Poverty headcount ($2.15/day) | 17.40 | 2022 | 82.6 | World Bank |
| Safely managed drinking water | 68.01 | 2024 | 68.0 | WHO/UNICEF JMP via World Bank |
| Adolescent fertility rate | 51.84 | 2024 | 74.1 | UN Population Division via World Bank |
| Individuals using the internet | 78.36 | 2024 | 78.4 | ITU via World Bank |
| Birth registration completeness | 88.60 | 2017 | 88.6 | UNICEF via World Bank |
| Married by age 18 | 3.60 | 2016 | 96.4 | UNICEF via World Bank |
| Intentional homicide rate | 43.72 | 2022 | 12.6 | UNODC via World Bank |
| PM2.5 air pollution exposure | 27.72 | 2023 | 72.3 | GBD/IHME via World Bank |
| Access to clean cooking fuels | 90.00 | 2024 | 90.0 | WHO via World Bank |
Why this moved — Index v1.0 → v1.1
Score changed from 80.4 (v1.0) to 78.4 (v1.1) when the Index expanded on 21 Oct 2026. Decomposed honestly:
- Methodology effect -2.0 — the indicator set grew from 9 to 16 (adding Protection and Environment & Exposure). This part of the change says something about the ruler, not about South Africa.
- Data effect +0.0 — revised or newer values on the original v1.0 indicators. This is the part that reflects change in South Africa itself.
Its rank moved from #105 to #116; rank movement between versions also reflects the larger ranked set and other countries’ new-indicator scores, so it is not, by itself, evidence of change in this country. The v1.0 table is kept in the v1.0 archive.