Literacy rate of young men vs. women in Zambia
Zambia: Literacy rate of young men vs. women was 79.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate of young men vs. women in Zambia, 1990–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 79.3% for literacy rate of young men vs. women in 2024.
The figure is down 8.1% on the previous year and down 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate of young men vs. women in Zambia peaked at 91.2% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 67.3%, in 1990.
That places Zambia 85th out of 95 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Literacy rate of young men vs. women in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 67.3% | — |
| 1999 | 72.6% | +8.0% |
| 2002 | 77.7% | +7.0% |
| 2010 | 91.2% | +17.3% |
| 2018 | 82.5% | -9.6% |
| 2019 | 86.3% | +4.6% |
| 2020 | 88.3% | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 85.3% | -3.3% |
| 2022 | 86.8% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 86.3% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 79.3% | -8.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 69.9% | 67.3% | 72.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 77.7% | 77.7% | 77.7% | 1 |
| 2010s | 86.6% | 82.5% | 91.2% | 3 |
| 2020s | 85.2% | 79.3% | 88.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- 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)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate of young men vs. women in Zambia?
- Literacy rate of young men vs. women in Zambia was 79.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate of young men vs. women recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 91.2% in 2010.
- What is the lowest literacy rate of young men vs. women recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 67.3% in 1990.
- How does Zambia rank for literacy rate of young men vs. women?
- Zambia ranks 85th out of 95 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate of young men vs. women rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.0%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rate of young men vs. women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of men aged 15 to 24 years who can read and write.