Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)
ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104): Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes was 88.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104), 1974–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) is 88.8%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) peaked at 88.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 72.3%, in 1975.
ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) ranks 128th of 204 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 72.4% | — |
| 1975 | 72.3% | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 72.9% | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 73.4% | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 74.0% | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 74.3% | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 74.5% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 75.5% | +1.4% |
| 1982 | 76.3% | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 77.0% | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 77.7% | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 78.3% | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 78.8% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 79.2% | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 79.5% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 79.9% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 80.5% | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 80.2% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 78.7% | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 78.8% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 78.6% | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 79.5% | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 79.7% | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 80.1% | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 80.3% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 82.6% | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 83.0% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 83.3% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 85.1% | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 85.0% | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 85.8% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 85.7% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 84.7% | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 83.3% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 83.2% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 83.6% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 86.2% | +3.2% |
| 2011 | 86.6% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 87.0% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 87.6% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 86.8% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 86.7% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 87.1% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 85.5% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 87.1% | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 88.5% | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 88.3% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 88.0% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 88.0% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 88.2% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 88.8% | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 73.2% | 72.3% | 74.3% | 6 |
| 1980s | 77.7% | 74.5% | 79.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 79.9% | 78.6% | 82.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 84.3% | 83.0% | 85.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 86.9% | 85.5% | 88.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.3% | 88.0% | 88.8% | 5 |
More education data for ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 7.02 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 0.2683 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 2.24 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 2.46 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 5.01 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.9 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 7.14 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 2.08 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.6859 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 14.16 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) was 88.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes recorded in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- The highest recorded value was 88.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes recorded in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- The lowest recorded value was 72.3% in 1975.
- How does ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) rank for youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes?
- ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) ranks 128th out of 204 groups with data for 2024.
- Is youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes rising or falling in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release