Illiterate population, 25-64 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: Illiterate population, 25-64 years, female was 90.40 million number in 2019. β–² Rising

Latest (2019)
90.40 million number
Change on year
up 2.0%
Rank
1st
of 1 groups
All-time high
90.40 million number
in 2019
All-time low
49.21 million number
in 1984
Years of data
36
1984–2019

Illiterate population, 25-64 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1984–2019

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100.0M1984200120191984: 49.2M number1985: 50.3M number1986: 51.3M number1987: 52.1M number1988: 52.9M number1989: 54.0M number1990: 54.9M number1991: 55.7M number1992: 56.9M number1993: 57.9M number1994: 58.7M number1995: 59.8M number1996: 60.3M number1997: 60.7M number1998: 61.2M number1999: 61.8M number2000: 64.5M number2001: 65.0M number2002: 66.5M number2003: 67.4M number2004: 68.4M number2005: 70.7M number2006: 69.0M number2007: 76.0M number2008: 77.8M number2009: 79.5M number2010: 80.8M number2011: 80.8M number2012: 81.0M number2013: 82.2M number2014: 83.0M number2015: 84.2M number2016: 85.3M number2017: 87.2M number2018: 88.6M number2019: 90.4M number

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

In 2019, illiterate population, 25-64 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 90.40 million number. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.

The figure is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 13.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, illiterate population, 25-64 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 90.40 million number in 2019 and was at its lowest, 49.21 million number, in 1984.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 51.63 million number 49.21 million number 54.00 million number 6
1990s 58.78 million number 54.87 million number 61.76 million number 10
2000s 70.48 million number 64.48 million number 79.53 million number 10
2010s 84.35 million number 80.77 million number 90.40 million number 10

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

  1. 1 India 121.13 million number compare
  2. 2 Pakistan 26.35 million number compare
  3. 3 Nigeria 17.67 million number compare
  4. 4 Bangladesh 12.75 million number compare

See the full ranking of 122 places β†’

More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is illiterate population, 25-64 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Illiterate population, 25-64 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa was 90.40 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest illiterate population, 25-64 years, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The highest recorded value was 90.40 million number in 2019.
What is the lowest illiterate population, 25-64 years, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 49.21 million number in 1984.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for illiterate population, 25-64 years, female?
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 1st out of 1 groups with data for 2019.
Is illiterate population, 25-64 years, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 13.7%. 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 Illiterate population, 25-64 years, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Illiterate population, 25-64 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/illiterate-population-25-64-years-female-number/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/stat/illiterate-population-25-64-years-female-number/sub-saharan-africa/">Illiterate population, 25-64 years, female in Sub-Saharan Africa</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Illiterate population, 25-64 years, female (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,240 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

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