African Reading and Writing Stats

Literacy rates among African adults aged 15 years and older including statistics and definitions of literacy rates by countries in Africa. 

Learn about what literacy is and put literacy rates in Africa in perspective.

Learning to read and write should be fundamental yet, more than 75% of the world's 781 million illiterate adults are found in South and West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa; of all the illiterate adults in the world, almost 66% are women.

Secondary school Mukono Town, Uganda

Nevertheless, keep in mind there are no universal definitions and standards of literacy, therefore, literacy rates in Africa are subjective. Also, Africa is the second most populous continent with about 1.1 billion people or 16% of the world’s population.

Mexico, China, Eastern, and Western Europe, India, the USA, and Japan can all fit into Africa's total land area very comfortably. African countries by the literacy rate generally mean literacy also encompasses numeracy, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations.

Africa the cradle of language but not literacy. Facts: 793 million adults worldwide cannot read these words, 64% of them are women, 10 countries account for 72% of all illiterate adults and 67 million primary school-age children are not enrolled in school.

Most importantly, over 25% of all languages are spoken only in Africa with over 2,000 languages are spoken on the continent. With such diversity in language, a person is counted as literate by the World Bank as the population aged 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life.

The top five African countries with the highest literacy rates are:

Equatorial Guinea 95.3 %

South Africa 94.3 %

Seychelles 91.8 %

Libya 91 %

Mauritius 90.6 %

 The top five African countries with the lowest literacy rates are:

Niger 19.1 %

South Sudan 27 %

Guinea 30.4 %

Burkina Faso 36 %

The Central African Republic 36.8 %

Primary school student in Botswana Africa.

African Country Literacy rates in alphabetical order.

African County	Read and Write English	Male %	Female %
Algeria	73	81	64
Angola	71	82	60
Benin	29	41	18
Botswana	87	87	88
Burkina Faso	29	37	22
Burundi	87	89	85
Cabo Verde	85	90	80
Cameroon	71	78	65
Central African Republic	37	51	24
Chad	38	47	29
Congo	79	86	73
Côte d'Ivoire	41	52	30
Democratic Republic of the Congo	75	88	63
Djibouti	no info	no info	no info
Egypt	72	80	64
Equatorial Guinea	95	97	92
Eritrea	72	81	63
Ethiopia	39	49	29
Gabon	82	85	80
The Gambia	53	62	45
Ghana	71	78	65
Guinea	25	37	12
Guinea-Bissau	58	70	45
Guyana	85	82	87
Kenya	72	78	67
Lesotho	76	66	85
Liberia	43	61	27
Libya	90	96	84
Madagascar	64	67	62
Malawi	61	72	51
Mali	31	43	20
Mauritania	46	57	35
Mauritius	89	92	87
Morocco	67	76	58
Mozambique	51	67	36
Namibia	76	74	78
Niger	15	23	9
Nigeria	51	61	41
Rwanda	66	71	62
Sao Tome and Principe	70	80	60
Senegal	52	66	40
Seychelles	94	93	94
Sierra Leone	46	57	35
Somalia	no info	no info	no info
South Africa	93	94	92
South Sudan	27	35	19
Sudan	74	82	66
Eswatini	83	84	82
Togo	60	74	48
Tunisia	79	87	71
Uganda	73	83	65
United Republic of Tanzania	68	75	61
Zambia	61	72	52
Zimbabwe	84	88	80

About International Literacy Day.

Reading inspires children to be successful in school and life. On November 17, 1965, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO declared September 8th of each year International Literacy Day.

International Literacy Day goal is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. The goal of the program is the promotion of literacy being an essential human right and the groundwork for learning. With formal and non-formal reading programs worldwide, UNESCO works to realize the vision of a literate world for all.

Literacy is a key lever of change and a practical tool of empowerment on each of the three main pillars of sustainable development: economic development, social development and environmental protection. - Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

What can you do?

Read aloud to your children.

Reading aloud is a gift you can freely give to your children from the day they are born until the time they leave the nest. Children's reading experts agree that reading aloud offers the easiest and most effective way to help children become lifelong readers. It can also be as much fun for you as it is for your children.

A child whose day includes listening to lively stories is more likely to grow up loving books and wanting to read them. To spark this desire in your children, set aside a special time each day to read aloud to your children and reread your child’s favorite story, children often like to revisit some of their old favorites.

Together we build awareness that boost harmony, education, and success, below are more links to articles you will find thought provoking.

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