Africa Adult Literacy Rate Ranking (2023)
In 2020, adult literacy rate in Africa was highest in the Seychelles at 96.20%, followed by São Tomé & Príncipe at 93.75% and Namibia at 92.25%. The average adult literacy rate across countries in Africa was 68.43%, the median was 75.02%, and Chad recorded the lowest adult literacy rate at 27.28%, according to the World Bank.
Data is available for the period 1970 to 2023 across 50 countries in Africa.
Frequency : Yearly
| Rank | Country | Current Value ↓ | Previous Value | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 96.2% | 94% | 2020 | |
| 2 | 93.8% | 87.4% | 2022 | |
| 3 | 92.2% | 93% | 2021 | |
| 4 | 92.2% | 88% | 2021 | |
| 5 | 91% | 87% | 2022 | |
| 6 | 90.7% | 89.3% | 2022 | |
| 7 | 90% | 95% | 2021 | |
| 8 | 89.85% | 93.23% | 2022 | |
| 9 | 87.5% | 71.1% | 2020 | |
| 10 | 85.69% | 88.86% | 2022 | |
| 11 | 85.2% | 81% | 2022 | |
| 12 | 82.88% | 78.73% | 2022 | |
| 13 | 82.01% | 86.24% | 2022 | |
| 14 | 82% | 78% | 2022 | |
| 15 | 81.4% | 75% | 2018 | |
| 16 | 80.6% | 79.3% | 2021 | |
| 17 | 80.6% | 69.1% | 2022 | |
| 18 | 80.5% | 73.6% | 2022 | |
| 19 | 80.4% | 64.5% | 2020 | |
| 20 | 79% | 80.1% | 2022 | |
| 21 | 78.2% | 72.5% | 2020 | |
| 22 | 77.5% | 74.7% | 2022 | |
| 23 | 77.3% | 76% | 2022 | |
| 24 | 76.6% | 65% | 2018 | |
| 25 | 75.5% | 68% | 2022 | |
| 26 | 74.5% | 71% | 2022 | |
| 27 | 72.4% | 66.2% | 2022 | |
| 28 | 68.08% | 70.15% | 2022 | |
| 29 | 67% | 64% | 2019 | |
| 30 | 66.96% | 59.53% | 2021 | |
| 31 | 63.16% | 62.02% | 2021 | |
| 32 | 61.7% | 49.2% | 2022 | |
| 33 | 60.7% | 54% | 2018 | |
| 34 | 60% | 61% | 2020 | |
| 35 | 58.67% | 51.64% | 2022 | |
| 36 | 57.7% | 46.8% | 2022 | |
| 37 | 54% | 5.4% | 2022 | |
| 38 | 53.9% | 54.88% | 2022 | |
| 39 | 51.77% | 47.49% | 2017 | |
| 40 | 50% | 90% | 2021 | |
| 41 | 48.64% | 43.58% | 2022 | |
| 42 | 48.3% | 42.94% | 2017 | |
| 43 | 47.1% | 43.8% | 2022 | |
| 44 | 45.3% | 40% | 2021 | |
| 45 | 38.1% | 31% | 2022 | |
| 46 | 37.5% | 42.4% | 2020 | |
| 47 | 34.5% | 37% | 2022 | |
| 48 | 34.5% | 27% | 2018 | |
| 49 | 31% | 35% | 2020 | |
| 50 | 27.3% | 30.6% | 2022 |
Africa Adult Literacy Rate Ranking (2023) : Definition
Adult Literacy Rate measures the share of the population aged 15 and above that can read and write a short, simple statement, reported as a percentage for the reference year or survey period.