Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female was 35.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Burkina Faso, 1975–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Burkina Faso recorded 35.7% for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in 2023. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 5.9% on the previous year and up 36.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Burkina Faso peaked at 35.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 1975.
Burkina Faso ranks 83rd of 89 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 3.4% | — |
| 1991 | 8.2% | +142.8% |
| 1996 | 8.1% | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 15.2% | +88.5% |
| 2005 | 16.6% | +9.4% |
| 2006 | 16.3% | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 20.4% | +25.4% |
| 2014 | 26.2% | +28.3% |
| 2018 | 31.0% | +18.4% |
| 2019 | 24.7% | -20.5% |
| 2021 | 31.0% | +25.7% |
| 2022 | 33.7% | +8.7% |
| 2023 | 35.7% | +5.9% |
Burkina Faso compared with similar countries
- Burkina Faso's 35.7% is below the median for low income countries, which is 50.0%, 72% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Burkina Faso's 35.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 63.2%, 57% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Burkina Faso changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +142.8% | 3.4% | 8.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.4% | 3.4% | 3.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 8.1% | 8.1% | 8.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 17.1% | 15.2% | 20.4% | 4 |
| 2010s | 27.3% | 24.7% | 31.0% | 3 |
| 2020s | 33.5% | 31.0% | 35.7% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More education data for Burkina Faso
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 68,557 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 105,439 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 78,072 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 75,598 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.19 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.07 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 8.2 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1303 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Burkina Faso?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Burkina Faso was 35.7% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 35.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 1975.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female?
- Burkina Faso ranks 83rd out of 89 countries with data for 2023.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burkina Faso data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release