Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male was 55.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, 1983–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa recorded 55.0% for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in 2024. That is the highest value across all 42 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 12.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 55.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 31.9%, in 1983.
That places SDG: Sub-saharan Africa 155th out of 200 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 31.9% | — |
| 1984 | 32.1% | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 32.3% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 32.4% | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 32.8% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 33.3% | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 33.5% | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 33.8% | +1.0% |
| 1991 | 33.1% | -2.1% |
| 1992 | 33.4% | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 33.8% | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 34.1% | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 34.6% | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 35.1% | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 36.2% | +3.0% |
| 1998 | 37.6% | +3.8% |
| 1999 | 38.6% | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 37.6% | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 38.3% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 38.6% | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 39.3% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 40.6% | +3.1% |
| 2005 | 41.2% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 42.2% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 42.6% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 44.6% | +4.7% |
| 2009 | 46.1% | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 46.0% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 46.9% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 47.3% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 48.2% | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 48.8% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 49.0% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 50.1% | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 49.7% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 52.0% | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 54.1% | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 54.5% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 53.6% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 54.1% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 54.6% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 55.0% | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 32.6% | 31.9% | 33.5% | 7 |
| 1990s | 35.0% | 33.1% | 38.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 41.1% | 37.6% | 46.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.2% | 46.0% | 54.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 54.4% | 53.6% | 55.0% | 5 |
More education data for SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 191.30 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 14.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.68 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 37.60 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 12.63 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 12.47 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.8202 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.94 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 97.68 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa was 55.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male recorded in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 55.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male recorded in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.9% in 1983.
- How does SDG: Sub-saharan Africa rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male?
- SDG: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 155th out of 200 groups with data for 2024.
- Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male rising or falling in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: Sub-saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release