Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa
UNICEF: West and Central Africa: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female was 51.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa, 1985–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
UNICEF: West and Central Africa recorded 51.6% for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in 2024. That is the highest value across all 40 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 20.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa peaked at 51.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 25.2%, in 1985.
That places UNICEF: West and Central Africa 186th out of 203 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 40 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 25.2% | — |
| 1986 | 25.5% | +1.1% |
| 1987 | 26.1% | +2.5% |
| 1988 | 26.8% | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 27.5% | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 28.2% | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 29.0% | +2.7% |
| 1992 | 29.7% | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 30.4% | +2.5% |
| 1994 | 31.2% | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 31.8% | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 32.6% | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 33.7% | +3.2% |
| 1998 | 34.9% | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 36.1% | +3.4% |
| 2000 | 33.0% | -8.3% |
| 2001 | 34.2% | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 35.2% | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 36.2% | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 37.3% | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 37.8% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 36.8% | -2.6% |
| 2007 | 35.7% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 36.4% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 36.6% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 37.5% | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 40.6% | +8.1% |
| 2012 | 41.2% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 42.1% | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 43.0% | +2.1% |
| 2015 | 43.9% | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 44.6% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 45.5% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 49.5% | +8.7% |
| 2019 | 49.7% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 50.0% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 50.4% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 50.9% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 51.3% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 51.6% | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 26.2% | 25.2% | 27.5% | 5 |
| 1990s | 31.8% | 28.2% | 36.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.9% | 33.0% | 37.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.8% | 37.5% | 49.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.8% | 50.0% | 51.6% | 5 |
More education data for UNICEF: West and Central Africa
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 4.92 % change on previous year (2021)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 20.41 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.9224 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 22.91 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.5411 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 8.34 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 0.9535 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 5.20 million (2021)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.46 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 5.73 % change on previous year (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa was 51.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in UNICEF: West and Central Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 51.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in UNICEF: West and Central Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.2% in 1985.
- How does UNICEF: West and Central Africa rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female?
- UNICEF: West and Central Africa ranks 186th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female rising or falling in UNICEF: West and Central Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: West and Central Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release