Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Zambia
Zambia: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male was 80.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Zambia, 1990–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Zambia is 80.6%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.5% on the previous year and down 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Zambia peaked at 88.7% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 73.0%, in 1990.
Zambia ranks 68th of 88 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 73.0% | — |
| 1999 | 76.2% | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 80.9% | +6.1% |
| 2010 | 88.7% | +9.6% |
| 2018 | 81.7% | -7.8% |
| 2019 | 86.4% | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 87.3% | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 85.8% | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 86.0% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 87.1% | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 80.6% | -7.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 74.6% | 73.0% | 76.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 80.9% | 80.9% | 80.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 85.6% | 81.7% | 88.7% | 3 |
| 2020s | 85.4% | 80.6% | 87.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 169,961 (2013)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2106 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Zambia?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Zambia was 80.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 88.7% in 2010.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 73.0% in 1990.
- How does Zambia rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male?
- Zambia ranks 68th out of 88 countries with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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 — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release