Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101)
ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101): Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes was 60.8% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101), 1971–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101) is 60.8%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 52 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101) peaked at 60.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 23.0%, in 1971.
ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101) ranks 185th of 203 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 23.0% | — |
| 1972 | 23.5% | +2.2% |
| 1973 | 24.0% | +2.1% |
| 1974 | 24.4% | +2.0% |
| 1975 | 25.0% | +2.3% |
| 1976 | 25.6% | +2.5% |
| 1977 | 26.5% | +3.2% |
| 1978 | 27.4% | +3.6% |
| 1979 | 28.5% | +4.0% |
| 1980 | 29.7% | +4.2% |
| 1981 | 31.5% | +6.1% |
| 1982 | 32.8% | +4.1% |
| 1983 | 33.3% | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 34.7% | +4.1% |
| 1985 | 36.2% | +4.4% |
| 1986 | 37.5% | +3.4% |
| 1987 | 38.4% | +2.6% |
| 1988 | 39.5% | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 40.6% | +2.9% |
| 1990 | 41.8% | +2.8% |
| 1991 | 43.1% | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 44.0% | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 45.1% | +2.5% |
| 1994 | 46.6% | +3.3% |
| 1995 | 47.6% | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 48.3% | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 50.2% | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 53.9% | +7.3% |
| 1999 | 54.9% | +1.9% |
| 2000 | 55.8% | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 56.9% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 57.9% | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 57.8% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 58.5% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 56.6% | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 57.4% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 56.4% | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 57.3% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 58.1% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 58.8% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 59.6% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 57.2% | -3.9% |
| 2013 | 57.9% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 58.4% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 59.1% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 58.8% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 59.3% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 59.7% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 60.1% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 60.5% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 60.7% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 60.8% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 25.3% | 23.0% | 28.5% | 9 |
| 1980s | 35.4% | 29.7% | 40.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 47.5% | 41.8% | 54.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 57.3% | 55.8% | 58.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 58.9% | 57.2% | 60.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 60.7% | 60.5% | 60.8% | 3 |
More education data for ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 3.78 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 5.65 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 3.56 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.77 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 604,930 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 2.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 859,574 (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 2.58 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.73 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101)?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101) was 60.8% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101)?
- The highest recorded value was 60.8% in 2022.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101)?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.0% in 1971.
- How does ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101) rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes?
- ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101) ranks 185th out of 203 groups with data for 2022.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes rising or falling in ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this ECA: Central Africa (unsdcode:98101) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release