Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index was 0.94 GPI in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1985–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in GPI.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index in Sub-Saharan Africa is 0.94 GPI, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 40 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 0.94 GPI in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.77 GPI, in 1985.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 31st of 40 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 40 years of available data.
Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | GPI | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.77 GPI | — |
| 1986 | 0.77 GPI | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.78 GPI | +1.3% |
| 1988 | 0.79 GPI | +1.3% |
| 1989 | 0.79 GPI | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.8 GPI | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 0.81 GPI | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 0.81 GPI | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.82 GPI | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 0.83 GPI | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 0.84 GPI | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 0.85 GPI | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 0.86 GPI | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 0.86 GPI | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.86 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.84 GPI | -2.3% |
| 2001 | 0.85 GPI | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 0.83 GPI | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 0.84 GPI | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 0.84 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.84 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.84 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.84 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.84 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.84 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.85 GPI | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 0.87 GPI | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 0.88 GPI | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 0.89 GPI | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 0.89 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.9 GPI | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 0.91 GPI | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 0.92 GPI | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 0.93 GPI | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 0.93 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.93 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.93 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.94 GPI | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 0.94 GPI | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.94 GPI | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.78 GPI | 0.77 GPI | 0.79 GPI | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.834 GPI | 0.8 GPI | 0.86 GPI | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.84 GPI | 0.83 GPI | 0.85 GPI | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.897 GPI | 0.85 GPI | 0.93 GPI | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.936 GPI | 0.93 GPI | 0.94 GPI | 5 |
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 196.80 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 81.43 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9738 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1526 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index in Sub-Saharan Africa was 0.94 GPI in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.94 GPI in 2022.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.77 GPI in 1985.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 31st out of 40 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 40 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Gender parity index for youth literacy rate is the ratio of females to males ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.