Which has higher literacy rate, adult total, Sub-Saharan Africa or Vietnam?

Vietnam, at 96.1% against 68.7% in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2022.

How many years of comparable data are there for Sub-Saharan Africa and Vietnam?

6 years are reported by both, from 1989 to 2022.

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.

Sub-Saharan Africa vs Vietnam: Literacy rate, adult total

Sub-Saharan Africa

68.7%

in 2024

Vietnam

96.1%

in 2022

Sub-Saharan Africa rank

32nd

Vietnam rank

31st

Literacy rate, adult total over time

Sub-Saharan Africa
Vietnam

How they compare

Vietnam currently reports 96.1% against 68.7% in Sub-Saharan Africa, a difference of 27.4%.

That makes Vietnam's figure about 1.4 times Sub-Saharan Africa's.

Across all 6 years both countries report, Vietnam has been ahead every year.

Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 32nd and Vietnam ranks 31st of 39 groups.

Vietnam has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Sub-Saharan Africa	Vietnam	Difference	Ahead
1980s	51.7%	87.6%	35.9%	Vietnam
1990s	57.7%	90.3%	32.6%	Vietnam
2000s	57.6%	91.8%	34.2%	Vietnam
2010s	67.7%	95.8%	28.0%	Vietnam
2020s	68.2%	96.1%	28.0%	Vietnam

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher literacy rate, adult total, Sub-Saharan Africa or Vietnam?: Vietnam, at 96.1% against 68.7% in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2022.
What is the difference in literacy rate, adult total between Sub-Saharan Africa and Vietnam?: 27.4%, with Vietnam ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Sub-Saharan Africa and Vietnam?: 6 years are reported by both, from 1989 to 2022.
How do Sub-Saharan Africa and Vietnam rank globally for literacy rate, adult total?: Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 32nd and Vietnam ranks 31st of 39 groups.
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

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Sub-Saharan Africa vs Vietnam: Literacy rate, adult total. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/literacy-rate-adult-total-percent-of-people-ages-15-and-above/sub-saharan-africa/viet-nam/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/compare/literacy-rate-adult-total-percent-of-people-ages-15-and-above/sub-saharan-africa/viet-nam/">Sub-Saharan Africa vs Vietnam: Literacy rate, adult total</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)
Unit: % of people ages 15 and above
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 128 places, 2,592 data points, 1973–2024
Last refreshed: 17 September 2026

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.