Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity was 0.9325 GPIA in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
0.9325 GPIA
Change on year
up 0.5%
Rank
32nd
of 37 groups
All-time high
0.9325 GPIA
in 2019
All-time low
0.765 GPIA
in 1985
Years of data
35
1985–2019

Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1985–2019

00.20.40.60.811985200220191985: 0.765 GPIA1986: 0.77 GPIA1987: 0.778 GPIA1988: 0.785 GPIA1989: 0.792 GPIA1990: 0.801 GPIA1991: 0.807 GPIA1992: 0.814 GPIA1993: 0.822 GPIA1994: 0.831 GPIA1995: 0.837 GPIA1996: 0.847 GPIA1997: 0.856 GPIA1998: 0.856 GPIA1999: 0.86 GPIA2000: 0.836 GPIA2001: 0.848 GPIA2002: 0.825 GPIA2003: 0.834 GPIA2004: 0.84 GPIA2005: 0.841 GPIA2006: 0.852 GPIA2007: 0.838 GPIA2008: 0.842 GPIA2009: 0.845 GPIA2010: 0.854 GPIA2011: 0.874 GPIA2012: 0.88 GPIA2013: 0.886 GPIA2014: 0.894 GPIA2015: 0.901 GPIA2016: 0.911 GPIA2017: 0.921 GPIA2018: 0.928 GPIA2019: 0.933 GPIA

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 0.9325 GPIA for youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity in 2019. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 10.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 0.9325 GPIA in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.765 GPIA, in 1985.

That places Sub-Saharan Africa 32nd out of 37 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year

Annual values for Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1985 to 2019.
Year GPIA Change
1985 0.765 GPIA
1986 0.7699 GPIA +0.6%
1987 0.7776 GPIA +1.0%
1988 0.785 GPIA +0.9%
1989 0.7918 GPIA +0.9%
1990 0.8008 GPIA +1.1%
1991 0.8069 GPIA +0.8%
1992 0.8138 GPIA +0.9%
1993 0.822 GPIA +1.0%
1994 0.8307 GPIA +1.1%
1995 0.8373 GPIA +0.8%
1996 0.8472 GPIA +1.2%
1997 0.8564 GPIA +1.1%
1998 0.8563 GPIA -0.0%
1999 0.8596 GPIA +0.4%
2000 0.836 GPIA -2.7%
2001 0.8475 GPIA +1.4%
2002 0.8253 GPIA -2.6%
2003 0.8338 GPIA +1.0%
2004 0.8396 GPIA +0.7%
2005 0.8406 GPIA +0.1%
2006 0.8518 GPIA +1.3%
2007 0.8377 GPIA -1.7%
2008 0.8417 GPIA +0.5%
2009 0.8445 GPIA +0.3%
2010 0.8543 GPIA +1.2%
2011 0.8735 GPIA +2.3%
2012 0.8798 GPIA +0.7%
2013 0.8858 GPIA +0.7%
2014 0.8937 GPIA +0.9%
2015 0.9011 GPIA +0.8%
2016 0.9107 GPIA +1.1%
2017 0.9209 GPIA +1.1%
2018 0.9275 GPIA +0.7%
2019 0.9325 GPIA +0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 0.7779 GPIA 0.765 GPIA 0.7918 GPIA 5
1990s 0.8331 GPIA 0.8008 GPIA 0.8596 GPIA 10
2000s 0.8399 GPIA 0.8253 GPIA 0.8518 GPIA 10
2010s 0.898 GPIA 0.8543 GPIA 0.9325 GPIA 10

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

  1. 29 Malaysia 1 GPIA compare
  2. 30 Jordan 1 GPIA compare
  3. 31 Ecuador 1 GPIA compare
  4. 32 Tonga 1 GPIA compare
  5. 33 Brunei Darussalam 1 GPIA compare
  6. 34 Sao Tome and Principe 1 GPIA compare
  7. 35 Mexico 1 GPIA compare

See the full ranking of 123 places →

More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa was 0.9325 GPIA in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.9325 GPIA in 2019.
What is the lowest youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.765 GPIA in 1985.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity?
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 32nd out of 37 groups with data for 2019.
Is youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 10.4%. 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 Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/youth-literacy-rate-population-15-24-years-adjusted-gender-parity-index-gpia/sub-saharan-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA)
Unit
GPIA
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
123 places, 2,166 data points, 1970–2019
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/