As of 2021, South Africa's total literacy rate was around 90 percent, which means 90 percent of all South Africans could read and write. There is literally no definitionThe literacy rate measures the percentage of people aged 15 and above who can read and write. There is no common definition for what counts as being literate; individual countries use individual assessments and standards to define it. Despite this, the literacy rate is an important indicator of the standard of education and thus the standard of living in a country. Sub-standard Sub-SaharaAlthough its educational system does not have the best reputation, South Africa’s literacy rate is well above average among their geographical peers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Illiteracy is still a significant global problem, and Sub-Saharan Africa is not among the leading regions when it comes to literacy and education. In 2011, 32 million children of primary school age did not go to school in that region, but projections see enrollment figures increasing in the future – if true, this could not only improve the region’s literacy rates, but also its standard of living and human progress in general.

South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 94.368 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 94.140 % for 2014. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 92.895 % from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2015, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 94.368 % in 2015 and a record low of 76.200 % in 1980. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Education Statistics. Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

The youth literacy rate (people aged 15-24) in South Africa amounted to ** percent in 2021. Between 1980 and 2021, the youth literacy rate rose by ** percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) in South Africa was reported at 91.5 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for South Africa (SEADTLITRZSZAF) from 1980 to 2024 about literacy, adult, South Africa, and rate.

South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data was reported at 99.229 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 99.084 % for 2014. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 98.901 % from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2015, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 99.271 % in 2012 and a record low of 84.973 % in 1980. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Education Statistics. Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Youth Male: % of Males Aged 15-24 data was reported at 98.685 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 98.682 % for 2014. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Youth Male: % of Males Aged 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 98.389 % from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2015, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 98.685 % in 2015 and a record low of 85.346 % in 1980. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Youth Male: % of Males Aged 15-24 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Education Statistics. Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) in South Africa was reported at 96.34 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Historical dataset showing South Africa literacy rate by year from 1980 to 2021.

South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 95.397 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 95.287 % for 2014. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 94.144 % from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2015, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 95.397 % in 2015 and a record low of 77.526 % in 1980. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) in South Africa was reported at 97 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 93.408 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 93.073 % for 2014. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 91.768 % from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2015, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 93.408 % in 2015 and a record low of 74.807 % in 1980. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

In the past five decades, the global literacy rate among adults has grown from 67 percent in 1976 to 87.36 percent in 2023. In 1976, males had a literacy rate of 76 percent, compared to a rate of 58 percent among females. This difference of over 17 percent in 1976 has fallen to just seven percent in 2020. Although gaps in literacy rates have fallen across all regions in recent decades, significant disparities remain across much of South Asia and Africa, while the difference is below one percent in Europe and the Americas. Reasons for these differences are rooted in economic and cultural differences across the globe. In poorer societies, families with limited means are often more likely to invest in their sons' education, while their daughters take up a more domestic role. Varieties do exist on national levels, however, and female literacy levels can sometimes exceed the male rate even in impoverished nations, such as Lesotho (where the difference was over 17 percent in 2014); nonetheless, these are exceptions to the norm.

View yearly updates and historical trends for South Africa Youth Literacy Rate. Source: World Bank. Track economic data with YCharts analytics.

South Africa ZA: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Literacy Rate: Youth Aged 15-24 data was reported at 1.006 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.004 Ratio for 2014. South Africa ZA: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Literacy Rate: Youth Aged 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 1.007 Ratio from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2015, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.011 Ratio in 2007 and a record low of 0.996 Ratio in 1980. South Africa ZA: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Literacy Rate: Youth Aged 15-24 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Education Statistics. Gender parity index for youth literacy rate is the ratio of females to males ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) in South Africa was reported at 1.02 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Ratio of young literate females to males (% ages 15-24) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

In 2024, the illiteracy rate among adults aged 15 years and older was almost 32 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. In South Asia, the illiteracy rate was 21.77 percent. The adult illiteracy rate is defined as the percentage of the population aged 15 and older who cannot read or write. Even though illiteracy continues to persist around the world, illiteracy levels have been reduced significantly over the past decades.

Seven USAID, The ELMA Foundation and J.P. Morgan funded South African project's data are included in this folder covering the period from 2012 to 2020: 1) Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS), 2) Reading Support Project (RSP), 3) South Africa Story Powered School Program, 4) Strengthening Teaching of Early Language and Literacy (STELLAR), 5) Teacher Assessment Resources for Monitoring and Improving Instruction for Foundation Phase (TARMII-FP), 6) Ukusiza, and 7) kaMhinga Literacy Project. Across these projects, the folder contains the following files and numbers of each: codebooks (30), consent (17), data files (98), instruments (63), and reports (5).

In 2020, China had a youth literacy rate of about **** percent. In contrast, Afghanistan's youth literacy rate stood at **** percent in 2021.Indicators for the literacy rateAn indicator which can be seen to affect the literacy rate is the governmental effort in investing in education. The amount of funds invested into the education sector is a factor which can determine a country’s state of education, as the amount of money being spent on education would have an impact on resources, learning environment, and teaching quality. Singapore’s student-teacher ratio in primary education is significantly lower than that of South Asian countries. For instance, Nepal had 20.3 students for every teacher in 2019. Meanwhile, Singaporean teachers only had around **** students on average as of 2020. Notably, South Asia, together with sub-Saharan Africa, had a much higher illiteracy rate compared to the East Asian and Pacific region in 2022. The importance of literacyThe literacy rate indicates the percentage of people within a population who can read and write. This enables them to identify, understand and interpret materials with various contexts. Ensuring literacy for all pupils is a part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for quality education. This in turn stimulates economic and societal growth for the future.

In 2021, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) in youth literacy in South Africa stood at one point. From 1980 to 2021, the GPI returned close to the initial level.