Literacy rates among adults in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Literacy rates among adults was 41.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Burkina Faso, 1975–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy rates among adults in Burkina Faso is 41.6%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and up 20.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Burkina Faso peaked at 41.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 8.8%, in 1975.
That places Burkina Faso 84th out of 89 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.8% | 8.8% | 8.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 13.2% | 12.8% | 13.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 23.9% | 21.8% | 27.9% | 4 |
| 2010s | 34.5% | 29.7% | 39.4% | 3 |
| 2020s | 39.8% | 37.0% | 41.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
- 81 Senegal 50.4% compare
- 82 Cote d'Ivoire 50.0% compare
- 83 Sierra Leone 43.6% compare
- 85 Guinea 39.6% compare
- 86 Afghanistan 37.3% compare
- 87 Mali 35.6% compare
More education data for Burkina Faso
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 41.2% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 77.2% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 91,764 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 4.11 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 78.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Burkina Faso?
- Literacy rates among adults in Burkina Faso was 41.6% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rates among adults recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 41.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.8% in 1975.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Burkina Faso ranks 84th out of 89 countries with data for 2023.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burkina Faso data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rates among adults. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of the population aged 15 years and older who can read and write.