Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)
ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104): Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female was 78.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
78.8%
Change on year
up 0.8%
Rank
95th
of 203 groups
All-time high
79.2%
in 2019
All-time low
55.0%
in 1975
Years of data
50
1975–2024
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104), 1975–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) stood at 78.8%.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 4.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) peaked at 79.2% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 55.0%, in 1975.
That places ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) 95th out of 203 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 55.0% | — |
| 1976 | 55.4% | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 55.8% | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 56.3% | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 56.8% | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 57.1% | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 57.6% | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 58.1% | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 58.7% | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 59.3% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 59.9% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 60.6% | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 61.3% | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 62.0% | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 62.2% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 62.9% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 61.6% | -2.1% |
| 1992 | 61.7% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 62.5% | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 62.7% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 64.1% | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 64.8% | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 65.8% | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 66.5% | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 67.5% | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 68.1% | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 68.8% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 70.1% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 70.5% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 71.3% | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 71.4% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 70.9% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 70.2% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 70.0% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 71.7% | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 72.7% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 73.4% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 74.1% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 74.6% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 75.3% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 75.7% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 76.4% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 74.1% | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 75.7% | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 79.2% | +4.6% |
| 2020 | 79.0% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 77.2% | -2.3% |
| 2022 | 77.7% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 78.2% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 78.8% | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 55.9% | 55.0% | 56.8% | 5 |
| 1980s | 59.7% | 57.1% | 62.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 64.0% | 61.6% | 67.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 70.3% | 68.1% | 71.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 75.1% | 72.7% | 79.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.2% | 77.2% | 79.0% | 5 |
More education data for ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 7.02 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 0.2683 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 2.24 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 2.46 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 5.01 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.9 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 7.14 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 2.08 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.6859 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 14.16 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) was 78.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female recorded in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- The highest recorded value was 79.2% in 2019.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female recorded in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.0% in 1975.
- How does ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female?
- ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) ranks 95th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female rising or falling in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release