Literacy rates among adults in Zambia
Zambia: Literacy rates among adults was 71.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Zambia, 1990–2024
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 Zambia is 71.8%, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 10.3% on the previous year and down 13.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Zambia peaked at 83.1% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 65.0%, in 1990.
That places Zambia 69th out of 89 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 66.5% | 65.0% | 68.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 69.2% | 69.2% | 69.2% | 1 |
| 2010s | 77.1% | 71.1% | 83.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 78.4% | 71.8% | 81.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 41.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 115.6% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 116,859 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 4.04 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 118.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Zambia?
- Literacy rates among adults in Zambia was 71.8% in 2024, 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 83.1% in 2010.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.0% in 1990.
- How does Zambia rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Zambia ranks 69th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.7%. 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 (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.