Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Zambia
Zambia: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male was 81.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Zambia, 1990–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 81.8% for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in 2024.
That represents a change of down 7.1% on the previous year and down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Zambia peaked at 88.4% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 79.9%, in 1990.
That places Zambia 63rd out of 88 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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, male in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 79.9% | — |
| 1999 | 80.5% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 84.0% | +4.3% |
| 2010 | 88.4% | +5.3% |
| 2018 | 82.1% | -7.1% |
| 2019 | 86.8% | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 87.4% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 86.7% | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 86.1% | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 88.0% | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 81.8% | -7.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 80.2% | 79.9% | 80.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 84.0% | 84.0% | 84.0% | 1 |
| 2010s | 85.8% | 82.1% | 88.4% | 3 |
| 2020s | 86.0% | 81.8% | 88.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- 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)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per capita 0.2106 units per person (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.30 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Zambia?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Zambia was 81.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 88.4% in 2010.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.9% in 1990.
- How does Zambia rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male?
- Zambia ranks 63rd out of 88 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. 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, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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