Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender in South Africa

South Africa: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender was 0.9791 GPIA in 2017. ▬ Flat

Latest (2017)
0.9791 GPIA
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
13th
of 36 countries
All-time high
0.9791 GPIA
in 2017
All-time low
0.93 GPIA
in 1996
Years of data
8
1996–2017

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender in South Africa, 1996–2017

00.20.40.60.811996200620171996: 0.93 GPIA2009: 0.956 GPIA2010: 0.947 GPIA2011: 0.951 GPIA2012: 0.948 GPIA2014: 0.949 GPIA2015: 0.954 GPIA2017: 0.979 GPIA

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 0.9791 GPIA for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender in 2017. That is the highest value across all 8 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and up 2.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender in South Africa peaked at 0.9791 GPIA in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.93 GPIA, in 1996.

South Africa ranks 13th of 36 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) in South Africa, 1996 to 2017.
Year GPIA Change
1996 0.93 GPIA
2009 0.9556 GPIA +2.7%
2010 0.9468 GPIA -0.9%
2011 0.9514 GPIA +0.5%
2012 0.9478 GPIA -0.4%
2014 0.9491 GPIA +0.1%
2015 0.9545 GPIA +0.6%
2017 0.9791 GPIA +2.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.93 GPIA 0.93 GPIA 0.93 GPIA 1
2000s 0.9556 GPIA 0.9556 GPIA 0.9556 GPIA 1
2010s 0.9548 GPIA 0.9468 GPIA 0.9791 GPIA 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 10 Spain 0.987 GPIA compare
  2. 11 Kuwait 0.9866 GPIA compare
  3. 12 Paraguay 0.9805 GPIA compare
  4. 14 Sri Lanka 0.9782 GPIA compare
  5. 15 Mexico 0.9698 GPIA compare
  6. 16 Thailand 0.962 GPIA compare

See the full ranking of 36 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender in South Africa?
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender in South Africa was 0.9791 GPIA in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.9791 GPIA in 2017.
What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.93 GPIA in 1996.
How does South Africa rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender?
South Africa ranks 13th out of 36 countries with data for 2017.
Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/adult-literacy-rate-population-15-years-rural-adjusted-gender-parity-index-gpia/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, rural, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA)
Unit
GPIA
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
36 places, 331 data points, 1976–2019
Last refreshed

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/