Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female was 132.97 million number in 2019. ▲ Rising
Latest (2019)
132.97 million number
Change on year
up 1.7%
Rank
15th
of 39 groups
All-time high
132.97 million number
in 2019
All-time low
75.33 million number
in 1985
Years of data
35
1985–2019
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1985–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.
Analysis
In 2019, adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) stood at 132.97 million number. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 132.97 million number in 2019 and was at its lowest, 75.33 million number, in 1985.
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 15th of 39 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 75.33 million number | — |
| 1986 | 76.84 million number | +2.0% |
| 1987 | 78.07 million number | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 79.45 million number | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 81.08 million number | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 82.45 million number | +1.7% |
| 1991 | 83.70 million number | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 85.82 million number | +2.5% |
| 1993 | 87.33 million number | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 88.57 million number | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 90.46 million number | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 91.48 million number | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 92.18 million number | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 93.57 million number | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 94.63 million number | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 100.05 million number | +5.7% |
| 2001 | 100.76 million number | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 103.45 million number | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 104.79 million number | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 105.03 million number | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 109.62 million number | +4.4% |
| 2006 | 107.33 million number | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 117.38 million number | +9.4% |
| 2008 | 119.87 million number | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 121.68 million number | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 123.38 million number | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 121.98 million number | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 122.11 million number | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 123.08 million number | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 124.45 million number | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 125.78 million number | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 126.64 million number | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 129.00 million number | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 130.76 million number | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 132.97 million number | +1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 78.15 million number | 75.33 million number | 81.08 million number | 5 |
| 1990s | 89.02 million number | 82.45 million number | 94.63 million number | 10 |
| 2000s | 109.00 million number | 100.05 million number | 121.68 million number | 10 |
| 2010s | 126.01 million number | 121.98 million number | 132.97 million number | 10 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- 12 Nepal 4.46 million number compare
- 13 Côte d'Ivoire 4.27 million number compare
- 14 Mozambique 4.14 million number compare
- 15 Tanzania, United Republic of 3.88 million number compare
- 16 Mali 3.76 million number compare
- 17 Burkina Faso 3.73 million number compare
- 18 Algeria 3.62 million number compare
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 196.79 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 81.42 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9733 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1526 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 132.97 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 132.97 million number in 2019.
- What is the lowest adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 75.33 million number in 1985.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 15th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
- Is adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Total number of females over age 15 who cannot both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life.