Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern
WB: Africa Eastern and Southern: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male was 78.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern, 1987–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern is 78.6%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 38 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern peaked at 78.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 67.5%, in 1987.
That places WB: Africa Eastern and Southern 145th 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 38 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 67.5% | — |
| 1988 | 67.7% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 68.0% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 68.4% | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 68.4% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 68.5% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 68.8% | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 69.2% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 69.5% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 69.7% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 70.0% | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 70.0% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 71.0% | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 71.2% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 71.4% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 73.0% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 73.2% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 73.3% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 72.6% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 70.6% | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 71.3% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 71.5% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 72.1% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 72.7% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 74.4% | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 75.9% | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 76.5% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 76.7% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 76.9% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 77.4% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 77.0% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 77.6% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 78.5% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 78.6% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 78.2% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 78.3% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 78.5% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 78.6% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 67.7% | 67.5% | 68.0% | 3 |
| 1990s | 69.3% | 68.4% | 71.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 72.0% | 70.6% | 73.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 76.4% | 72.7% | 78.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.4% | 78.2% | 78.6% | 5 |
More education data for WB: Africa Eastern and Southern
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 20.71 million (2022)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 2.23 % change on previous year (2021)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 5.92 million (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 1.75 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 18.88 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 2.91 % change on previous year (2022)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 23.18 million (2022)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 2.98 % change on previous year (2022)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.9717 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 46.07 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern was 78.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The highest recorded value was 78.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The lowest recorded value was 67.5% in 1987.
- How does WB: Africa Eastern and Southern rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male?
- WB: Africa Eastern and Southern ranks 145th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male rising or falling in WB: Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this WB: Africa Eastern and Southern 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 38 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release