Youth/adult literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Youth/adult literacy rate was 79.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Youth/adult literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2024
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, youth/adult literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 79.2%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 5.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, youth/adult literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 79.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 66.3%, in 2000.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Youth/adult literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 66.3% | — |
| 2001 | 66.9% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 68.2% | +2.0% |
| 2003 | 68.4% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 69.0% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 68.5% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 68.3% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 68.4% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 68.7% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 69.0% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 70.0% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 72.0% | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 73.4% | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 74.4% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 74.8% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 75.4% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 76.0% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 76.5% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 77.9% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 78.1% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 78.3% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 78.5% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 78.7% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 79.0% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 79.2% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 68.2% | 66.3% | 69.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 74.9% | 70.0% | 78.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.7% | 78.3% | 79.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 81.43 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 196.80 million (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1526 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is youth/adult literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Youth/adult literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa was 79.2% in 2024, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest youth/adult literacy rate recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 79.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest youth/adult literacy rate recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 66.3% in 2000.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for youth/adult literacy rate?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 16th out of 18 groups with data for 2024.
- Is youth/adult literacy rate rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Youth/adult literacy rate (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).