Malaysia vs Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Literacy rate, adult total
Malaysia
95.8%
in 2022
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
68.7%
in 2024
Malaysia rank
33rd
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank
34th
Literacy rate, adult total over time
- Malaysia
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
How they compare
Malaysia currently reports 95.8% against 68.7% in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), a difference of 27.1%.
That makes Malaysia's figure about 1.4 times Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)'s.
Across all 8 years both countries report, Malaysia has been ahead every year.
Malaysia ranks 33rd and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 34th of 89 countries.
Malaysia has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malaysia | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 82.9% | 52.7% | 30.3% | Malaysia |
| 2000s | 88.7% | 56.6% | 32.1% | Malaysia |
| 2010s | 94.6% | 64.9% | 29.7% | Malaysia |
| 2020s | 95.8% | 68.2% | 27.6% | Malaysia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher literacy rate, adult total, Malaysia or Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Malaysia, at 95.8% against 68.7% in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) as of 2022.
- What is the difference in literacy rate, adult total between Malaysia and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- 27.1%, with Malaysia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 1991 to 2022.
- How do Malaysia and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank globally for literacy rate, adult total?
- Malaysia ranks 33rd and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 34th of 89 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.