Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location in South Africa
South Africa: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location was 0.91 LPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location in South Africa, 1996–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.91 LPIA for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location in South Africa peaked at 0.94 LPIA in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.7 LPIA, in 1996.
South Africa ranks 27th of 55 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location in South Africa, year by year
| Year | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0.7 LPIA | — |
| 2009 | 0.88 LPIA | +25.7% |
| 2010 | 0.88 LPIA | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.88 LPIA | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.89 LPIA | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 0.9 LPIA | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 0.91 LPIA | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 0.9 LPIA | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 0.94 LPIA | +4.4% |
| 2021 | 0.89 LPIA | -5.3% |
| 2024 | 0.91 LPIA | +2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.7 LPIA | 0.7 LPIA | 0.7 LPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.88 LPIA | 0.88 LPIA | 0.88 LPIA | 1 |
| 2010s | 0.9 LPIA | 0.88 LPIA | 0.94 LPIA | 7 |
| 2020s | 0.9 LPIA | 0.89 LPIA | 0.91 LPIA | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 181,739 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 339,638 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 410,708 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 407,696 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.50 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.119 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location in South Africa?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location in South Africa was 0.91 LPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.94 LPIA in 2019.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7 LPIA in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location?
- South Africa ranks 27th out of 55 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, adjusted location parity index (LPIA). 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