El Salvador vs South Africa: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, both sexes

El Salvador
81.7%
in 2017
South Africa
77.6%
in 2017
El Salvador rank
23rd
South Africa rank
25th

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, both sexes over time

  • El Salvador
  • South Africa
020406080199220042017

How they compare

El Salvador currently reports 81.7% against 77.6% in South Africa, a difference of 4.1%.

That makes El Salvador's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 5 shared years of data; in 2009 it was South Africa ahead.

El Salvador ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 25th of 38 countries.

South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade El Salvador South Africa Difference Ahead
2000s 73.5% 86.7% 13.2% South Africa
2010s 77.9% 84.9% 7.0% South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, both sexes, El Salvador or South Africa?
El Salvador, at 81.7% against 77.6% in South Africa as of 2017.
What is the difference in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, both sexes between El Salvador and South Africa?
4.1%, with El Salvador ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for El Salvador and South Africa?
5 years are reported by both, from 2009 to 2017.
How do El Salvador and South Africa rank globally for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, both sexes?
El Salvador ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 25th of 38 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, both sexes (%). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

El Salvador vs South Africa: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, both sexes. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/adult-literacy-rate-population-15-years-rural-both-sexes-percent/el-salvador/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/adult-literacy-rate-population-15-years-rural-both-sexes-percent/el-salvador/south-africa/">El Salvador vs South Africa: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, both sexes</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
38 places, 341 data points, 1976–2019
Last refreshed

Total number of adults in rural areas over age 15 who cannot both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/