Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity was 0.8152 GPIA in 2019. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1985–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 0.8152 GPIA for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in 2019. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 10.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 0.8152 GPIA in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.6347 GPIA, in 1985.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 28th of 37 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.6347 GPIA | — |
| 1986 | 0.6388 GPIA | +0.7% |
| 1987 | 0.645 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 0.6524 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 0.6556 GPIA | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 0.663 GPIA | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 0.6748 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 0.6718 GPIA | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 0.6779 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 0.6856 GPIA | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 0.6931 GPIA | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 0.7017 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 0.7119 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 0.716 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 0.7221 GPIA | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 0.7126 GPIA | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 0.7199 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 0.7095 GPIA | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 0.7195 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 0.719 GPIA | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 0.7217 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 0.7555 GPIA | +4.7% |
| 2007 | 0.7297 GPIA | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 0.737 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 0.7375 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 0.7443 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 0.7593 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 0.7673 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 0.774 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 0.7802 GPIA | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 0.7885 GPIA | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 0.7976 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 0.8046 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 0.8105 GPIA | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 0.8152 GPIA | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.6453 GPIA | 0.6347 GPIA | 0.6556 GPIA | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.6918 GPIA | 0.663 GPIA | 0.7221 GPIA | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7262 GPIA | 0.7095 GPIA | 0.7555 GPIA | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7842 GPIA | 0.7443 GPIA | 0.8152 GPIA | 10 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- School age population, one year before than official primary entry 16.22 million number (2019)
- School age population, one year before than official primary entry 15.81 million number (2019)
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes 6.17 years (2019)
- School age population, one year before than official primary entry 32.03 million number (2019)
- School life expectancy, primary, female 6.02 years (2019)
- School life expectancy, primary, male 6.33 years (2019)
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general 94.2% (2018)
- School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes 0.78 years (2019)
- Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education, adjusted gender parity 0.767 GPIA (2018)
- Teachers in primary education, male 2.57 million number (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa was 0.8152 GPIA in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.8152 GPIA in 2019.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6347 GPIA in 1985.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 28th out of 37 groups with data for 2019.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The Adjusted Gender Parity Index (GPIA) is calculated by dividing the female value for the indicator by the male value for the indicator. If the resulting value exceeds 1, the ratio is inverted and subtracted from 2. The adjusted gender parity index is symmetrical around 1 and lies in the range 0-2. An adjusted GPI equal to 1 indicates parity between females and males. In general, a value less than 1 indicates disparity in favor of males and a value greater than 1 indicates disparity in favor of females. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute for Statistics: http://uis.unesco.org/