Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)
ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104): Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female was 88.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104), 1974–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) recorded 88.5% for youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female in 2024. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) peaked at 88.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 66.0%, in 1975.
ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) ranks 123rd 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, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 66.3% | — |
| 1975 | 66.0% | -0.4% |
| 1976 | 66.4% | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 66.8% | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 67.4% | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 67.8% | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 68.0% | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 69.2% | +1.7% |
| 1982 | 70.2% | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 71.2% | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 72.2% | +1.4% |
| 1985 | 73.2% | +1.3% |
| 1986 | 73.9% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 74.7% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 75.3% | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 76.0% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 76.8% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 76.5% | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 75.0% | -2.0% |
| 1993 | 75.5% | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 75.3% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 76.5% | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 76.9% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 77.7% | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 78.1% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 79.7% | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 80.2% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 80.7% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 81.9% | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 82.0% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 82.8% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 82.8% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 82.0% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 80.6% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 79.9% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 80.5% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 83.0% | +3.2% |
| 2011 | 83.7% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 84.4% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 84.9% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 84.2% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 84.7% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 85.2% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 84.3% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 85.9% | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 87.3% | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 87.1% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 87.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 87.4% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 87.8% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 88.5% | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 66.8% | 66.0% | 67.8% | 6 |
| 1980s | 72.4% | 68.0% | 76.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.8% | 75.0% | 79.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 81.3% | 79.9% | 82.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.8% | 83.0% | 87.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 87.6% | 87.1% | 88.5% | 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, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) was 88.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female recorded in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- The highest recorded value was 88.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female recorded in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- The lowest recorded value was 66.0% in 1975.
- How does ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) rank for youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female?
- ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104) ranks 123rd out of 204 groups with data for 2024.
- Is youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, female rising or falling in ECA: Southern Africa (unsdcode:98104)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release