Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male was 70.1% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1984–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 70.1% for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in 2019. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 70.1% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 55.8%, in 1984.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 31st out of 38 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 55.8% | — |
| 1985 | 56.2% | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 56.5% | +0.7% |
| 1987 | 57.3% | +1.3% |
| 1988 | 57.9% | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 58.5% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 59.2% | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 59.7% | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 60.4% | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 61.1% | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 61.9% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 62.2% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 62.9% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 63.7% | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 64.6% | +1.4% |
| 1999 | 65.3% | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 64.4% | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 65.3% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 65.8% | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 66.2% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 67.3% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 66.8% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 66.7% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 64.3% | -3.6% |
| 2008 | 64.3% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 64.8% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 65.2% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 66.4% | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 67.5% | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 68.0% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 68.7% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 69.1% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 69.5% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 69.4% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 69.9% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 70.1% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 57.0% | 55.8% | 58.5% | 6 |
| 1990s | 62.1% | 59.2% | 65.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 65.6% | 64.3% | 67.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 68.4% | 65.2% | 70.1% | 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 literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Sub-Saharan Africa was 70.1% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 70.1% in 2019.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.8% in 1984.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 31st out of 38 groups with data for 2019.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.2%. 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 Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Percentage of the male 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 male literates aged 25-64 years by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.