Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male in South Africa
South Africa: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male was 85.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male in South Africa, 1996–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 85.7% for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male in 2024.
That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and down 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male in South Africa peaked at 92.3% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 68.2%, in 1996.
South Africa ranks 30th of 53 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, rural, male in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 68.2% | — |
| 2009 | 87.0% | +27.5% |
| 2010 | 87.3% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 87.4% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 88.7% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 90.0% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 89.7% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 86.5% | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 92.3% | +6.7% |
| 2021 | 84.3% | -8.7% |
| 2024 | 85.7% | +1.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 68.2% | 68.2% | 68.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 87.0% | 87.0% | 87.0% | 1 |
| 2010s | 88.8% | 86.5% | 92.3% | 7 |
| 2020s | 85.0% | 84.3% | 85.7% | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 27 Thailand 89.6% compare
- 28 Colombia 88.9% compare
- 29 Dominican Republic 86.5% compare
- 31 El Salvador 84.8% compare
- 32 India 84.8% compare
- 33 Iran, Islamic Republic of 84.2% compare
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, rural, male in South Africa?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male in South Africa was 85.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 92.3% in 2019.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 68.2% in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male?
- South Africa ranks 30th out of 53 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, male rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.8%. 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, rural, male (%). 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