Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)
ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104): Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male was 86.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
86.6%
Change on year
up 0.2%
Rank
100th
of 203 groups
All-time high
87.9%
in 2020
All-time low
70.9%
in 1974
Years of data
51
1974–2024
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104), 1974–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) is 86.6%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) peaked at 87.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 70.9%, in 1974.
ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) ranks 100th of 203 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 70.9% | — |
| 1975 | 70.9% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 71.3% | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 71.8% | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 72.2% | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 72.4% | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 72.7% | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 73.3% | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 73.8% | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 74.3% | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 74.8% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 75.2% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 75.7% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 76.2% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 76.6% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 76.7% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 77.1% | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 76.4% | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 76.3% | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 76.5% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 76.8% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 77.4% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 77.7% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 77.9% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 78.4% | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 80.1% | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 80.5% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 80.9% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 82.7% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 82.9% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 84.1% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 84.0% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 83.3% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 82.8% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 82.9% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 83.9% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 85.1% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 85.3% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 85.9% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 86.4% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 86.0% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 86.6% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 83.6% | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 85.0% | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 87.9% | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 87.9% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 86.0% | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 86.2% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 86.4% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 86.6% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 71.6% | 70.9% | 72.4% | 6 |
| 1980s | 74.9% | 72.7% | 76.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 77.5% | 76.3% | 80.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.8% | 80.5% | 84.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 85.8% | 83.6% | 87.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.6% | 86.0% | 87.9% | 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, male in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) was 86.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- The highest recorded value was 87.9% in 2020.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- The lowest recorded value was 70.9% in 1974.
- How does ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male?
- ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) ranks 100th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male rising or falling in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release