Malaysia vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female

Malaysia
96.0%
in 2018
Sub-Saharan Africa
53.8%
in 2019
Malaysia rank
28th
Sub-Saharan Africa rank
31st

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female over time

  • Malaysia
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
406080100198019992019

How they compare

Malaysia currently reports 96.0% against 53.8% in Sub-Saharan Africa, a difference of 42.2%.

That makes Malaysia's figure about 1.8 times Sub-Saharan Africa's.

Across all 6 years both countries report, Malaysia has been ahead every year.

Malaysia ranks 28th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 31st of 83 countries.

Malaysia has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Malaysia Sub-Saharan Africa Difference Ahead
1990s 74.9% 35.4% 39.5% Malaysia
2000s 85.5% 41.8% 43.7% Malaysia
2010s 95.0% 50.9% 44.2% Malaysia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female, Malaysia or Sub-Saharan Africa?
Malaysia, at 96.0% against 53.8% in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2018.
What is the difference in literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female between Malaysia and Sub-Saharan Africa?
42.2%, with Malaysia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and Sub-Saharan Africa?
6 years are reported by both, from 1991 to 2018.
How do Malaysia and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female?
Malaysia ranks 28th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 31st of 83 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female (%). 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

Malaysia vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/literacy-rate-population-25-64-years-female-percent/malaysia/sub-saharan-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/literacy-rate-population-25-64-years-female-percent/malaysia/sub-saharan-africa/">Malaysia vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,216 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Percentage of the female population between age 25 and age 64 who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of female literates aged 25-64 years by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.