Literacy rate, youth male in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Literacy rate, youth male was 81.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, youth male in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1985–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of males ages 15-24.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 81.3% for literacy rate, youth male in 2024. That is the highest value across all 40 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, youth male in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 81.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 71.2%, in 1985.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 34th out of 40 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, youth male in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of males ages 15-24 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 71.2% | — |
| 1986 | 71.4% | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 71.9% | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 72.0% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 72.4% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 72.6% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 72.7% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 72.5% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 72.5% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 72.7% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 72.5% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 72.5% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 72.7% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 72.8% | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 73.5% | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 72.6% | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 72.9% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 75.1% | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 74.9% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 75.4% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 74.8% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 74.2% | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 74.3% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 74.4% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 74.8% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 75.3% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 76.6% | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 77.9% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 78.7% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 78.8% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 79.1% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 79.3% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 79.6% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 80.7% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 80.8% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 80.8% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 80.9% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 81.0% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 81.2% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 81.3% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 71.8% | 71.2% | 72.4% | 5 |
| 1990s | 72.7% | 72.5% | 73.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 74.3% | 72.6% | 75.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.7% | 75.3% | 80.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.0% | 80.8% | 81.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
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 male in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Literacy rate, youth male in Sub-Saharan Africa was 81.3% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest literacy rate, youth male recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 81.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, youth male recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 71.2% in 1985.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for literacy rate, youth male?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 34th out of 40 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, youth male rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. 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 male (% of males ages 15-24). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 40 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.