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Adult literacy rate in South Africa

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The adult literacy rate in South Africa currently stands at 90%, marking a decrease of 5% (-5.3%) compared to 2019.
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Group by:
Value Equal sized Natural
Source:
World Bank
Data availability:
Regions:
215
Date range: 1970 to 2023
Points:
13,975
Measure:
%
Similar regions to South Africa
Argentina
97%
+1%
(2001)
Colombia
96%
+1%
(2020)
Thailand
91.1%
-3%
(2022)
Kenya
82.9%
+4.1%
(2022)
Tanzania
82%
+4%
(2022)
Algeria
81.4%
+6.4%
(2018)
More regions
More indicators for South Africa
Female doctoral attainment
0%
-0.1%
(2022)
Female tertiary school enrollment
34.2%
+2.7%
(2022)
Secondary teachers
100%
(2016)
Primary education duration
7 years
0 years
(2023)
Secondary education duration
5 years
0 years
(2023)
Female primary last grade persistence
97.2%
+1.9%
(2020)
More indicators
South Africa Adult literacy rate between 1980 and 2021
Period Value Change
2021 90% -5%
2019 95% +8%
2017 87% -4.7%
2016 91.7% -2.3%
2015 94% 0%
2014 94% 0%
2012 94% +1%
2011 93% 0%
2010 93% 0%
2009 93% +4%
2007 89% +7%
1996 82% +6%
1980 76%
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