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Indicator

Adult Literacy Rate by African country

2024

Share of people ages 15 and over who can read and write.

Africa, 20247 of 54 countries
72.7%population-weighted average
Highest in 2024South Africa · 91.2%Lowest in 2024Mali · 35.6%Reported in 20244 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — no dataDemocratic Republic of the Congo — no dataSomalia — no dataKenya — no dataSudan — no dataChad — no dataSouth Africa — 91.2%Lesotho — 90.4%Zimbabwe — no dataBotswana — no dataNamibia — no dataSenegal — no dataMali — 35.6%Mauritania — no dataBenin — no dataNiger — no dataNigeria — 70.4%Cameroon — no dataTogo — no dataGhana — no dataCote d'Ivoire — no dataGuinea — no dataGuinea-Bissau — no dataLiberia — no dataSierra Leone — no dataBurkina Faso — no dataCentral African Republic — no dataRepublic of the Congo — no dataGabon — no dataEquatorial Guinea — no dataZambia — 71.8%Malawi — no dataMozambique — no dataEswatini — no dataAngola — no dataBurundi — no dataMadagascar — no dataGambia — no dataTunisia — no dataAlgeria — no dataEritrea — no dataMorocco — no dataEgypt — no dataLibya — no dataEthiopia — no dataDjibouti — no dataUganda — 77.0%Rwanda — no dataSouth Sudan — no dataNigeria 70.4%Nigeria 70.4%EthiopiaEthiopiaKenyaKenyaSouth Africa 91.2%South Africa 91.2%2024HIGHEST IN 2024South Africa91.2%Lesotho90.4%Cabo Verdenot drawn88.5%Uganda77.0%Zambia71.8%LOWEST IN 2024Mali35.6%Nigeria70.4%Zambia71.8%Uganda77.0%Cabo Verdenot drawn88.5%PINNEDEthiopiano dataKenyano dataOTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNComorosnot drawnno dataMauritiusnot drawnno dataSao Tome and Principenot drawnno dataSeychellesnot drawnno data% of adults · quintiles of the observed range35.6%70.4%71.8%77%88.5%91.2%no record
20142024
UNESCO UIS · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Southern Africa2 of 5 countries91.1%
Eastern Africa2 of 18 countries75.5%
Western Africa3 of 16 countries67.1%
Northern Africa0 of 6 countries—
Middle Africa0 of 9 countries—
Africaall 54 countries · 7 with a 2024 figure72.7%

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
Three countries have a modelled 2024 figureThe provider estimated or projected it rather than measuring it that year. Those points are tagged Modelled in the table and drawn like any other on the map — read the tag before you quote the number.
47 countries have no usable 2024 recordNot a low value — no figure within the window. Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso and 42 more are hatched on the map and blank in the table.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2024 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

Adult Literacy RateShare of people ages 15 and over who can read and write.
SourceUNESCO UIS, with processing by Africa API
Unit% of adults
Last updated10 May 2026
Next expected updateMay 2027
Date range1990–2024
Coverage7 of 54 countries · 4 reported, 3 modelled, 47 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 4 countries did so for 2024 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2024 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "Adult Literacy Rate". Data adapted from UNESCO UIS. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/adult-literacy
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=adult_literacy_pct&year=2024&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
EducationEducation Spending (% of GDP)Government expenditure on education as a share of GDP.EducationTertiary EnrollmentGross enrollment ratio in tertiary education, regardless of age.EducationYouth Literacy RateShare of people ages 15-24 who can read and write.

Adult Literacy Rate: most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

14 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryAdult Literacy RatePeriod
1Mauritius94.3%2023
2South Africa91.2%2024
3Lesotho90.4%2024
4Cabo Verde88.5%2024
5Namibia87.6%2023
6Tunisia86.25%2023
7Uganda77%2024
8Zambia71.8%2024
9Nigeria70.4%2024
10Democratic Republic of the Congo68.5%2023
11Angola68.2%2023
12Senegal50.4%2023
13Burkina Faso41.6%2023
14Mali35.6%2024
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 14 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

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