South Africa vs Upper middle income: Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes

South Africa
3.39 million number
in 2017
Upper middle income
48.92 million number
in 2019
South Africa rank
20th
Upper middle income rank
20th

Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes over time

  • South Africa
  • Upper middle income
050.0M100.0M150.0M200.0M250.0M197619972019

How they compare

Upper middle income currently reports 48.92 million number against 3.39 million number in South Africa, a difference of 45.53 million number.

That makes Upper middle income's figure about 14.4 times South Africa's.

Across all 10 years both countries report, Upper middle income has been ahead every year.

South Africa ranks 20th and Upper middle income ranks 20th of 83 countries.

Upper middle income has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa Upper middle income Difference Ahead
1980s 2.74 million number 239.51 million number 236.76 million number Upper middle income
1990s 3.23 million number 161.40 million number 158.17 million number Upper middle income
2000s 1.95 million number 68.27 million number 66.32 million number Upper middle income
2010s 1.77 million number 58.83 million number 57.06 million number Upper middle income

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes, South Africa or Upper middle income?
Upper middle income, at 48.92 million number against 3.39 million number in South Africa as of 2019.
What is the difference in illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes between South Africa and Upper middle income?
45.53 million number, with Upper middle income ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Upper middle income?
10 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2017.
How do South Africa and Upper middle income rank globally for illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes?
South Africa ranks 20th and Upper middle income ranks 20th of 83 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes (number). 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

South Africa vs Upper middle income: Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/illiterate-population-25-64-years-both-sexes-number/south-africa/upper-middle-income/

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/illiterate-population-25-64-years-both-sexes-number/south-africa/upper-middle-income/">South Africa vs Upper middle income: Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,239 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Total number of adults from age 25 to age 64 who cannot both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life.