Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female was 28.80 million number in 2019. ▲ Rising
Latest (2019)
28.80 million number
Change on year
up 0.7%
Rank
7th
of 39 groups
All-time high
31.34 million number
in 2009
All-time low
18.93 million number
in 1985
Years of data
35
1985–2019
Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1985–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/). Measured in number.
Analysis
In 2019, youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 28.80 million number.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 31.34 million number in 2009 and was at its lowest, 18.93 million number, in 1985.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th of 39 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 18.93 million number | — |
| 1986 | 19.29 million number | +1.9% |
| 1987 | 19.50 million number | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 19.87 million number | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 20.17 million number | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 20.45 million number | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 20.86 million number | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 21.32 million number | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 21.65 million number | +1.5% |
| 1994 | 21.97 million number | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 22.46 million number | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 22.70 million number | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 22.92 million number | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 23.65 million number | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 23.90 million number | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 26.33 million number | +10.1% |
| 2001 | 26.49 million number | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 27.04 million number | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 27.28 million number | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 27.00 million number | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 28.49 million number | +5.5% |
| 2006 | 28.37 million number | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 30.52 million number | +7.6% |
| 2008 | 30.96 million number | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 31.34 million number | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 31.11 million number | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 29.75 million number | -4.4% |
| 2012 | 29.10 million number | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 28.97 million number | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 28.83 million number | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 28.81 million number | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 28.70 million number | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 28.48 million number | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 28.60 million number | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 28.80 million number | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 19.55 million number | 18.93 million number | 20.17 million number | 5 |
| 1990s | 22.19 million number | 20.45 million number | 23.90 million number | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.38 million number | 26.33 million number | 31.34 million number | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.11 million number | 28.48 million number | 31.11 million number | 10 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 4 Ethiopia 3.19 million number compare
- 5 Côte d'Ivoire 1.22 million number compare
- 6 Chad 1.14 million number compare
- 7 Egypt 1.08 million number compare
- 8 Mali 1.04 million number compare
- 9 Mozambique 1.01 million number compare
- 10 Burkina Faso 882,379 number compare
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 illiterate population, 15-24 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa was 28.80 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/).
- What is the highest youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 31.34 million number in 2009.
- What is the lowest youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.93 million number in 1985.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
- Is youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/), published as part of Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Total number of females between age 15 and age 24 who cannot both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life.