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.

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).

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.

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).

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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).

The overall aim of the USAID/SA basic education program is to improve primary grade reading outcomes by building teacher effectiveness and strengthening classroom and school management. This is being accomplished through support to innovative, local interventions that have a demonstrated capacity for scale-up. The main USAID/SA program is the School Capacity and Innovation Program (SCIP), which also leverages significant private sector resources, amplifying the impact of USAID’s investment in the South African education system. SCIP is co-funded by The ELMA Foundation and J.P. Morgan and designed in collaboration with the South African Department of Basic Education. SCIP supports local South African models or interventions that work directly with teachers and school management teams in innovative ways in order to improve their practice as instructional leaders and managers. SCIP is aligned to the USAID Global Education Strategy (2011–2015) which supports interventions to improve learning outcomes with a focus on primary grade reading as a measure of performance. In addition to seeking initiatives that demonstrate innovation and impact, sustainability and scalability are key components of the SCIP program. The Strengthening Teaching of Early Language and Literacy (STELLAR) Program improves the language and literacy skills of Grade R children from disadvantaged communities in South Africa by training and supporting Grade R teachers. Grade R (also called the Reception Year) is the year of schooling before Grade 1.

Abstract

Leadership for literacy is an education research project led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town, JET Education Services, the University of South Africa and the Department of Basic Education in South Africa. The project focuses on the under-explored area of high performing rural and township schools in South Africa. The specific aims of the project were to: Identify exceptional rural and township primary schools Gain new insights into school leadership and management (SLM) practices that support high achievement in these schools Develop a new SLM instrument that captures the behaviour and practices of school teachers and principles in challenging school contexts Determine the predictive validity of this SLM instrument Establish early grade reading norms and benchmarks of SA learnings in challenging contexts

Geographic coverage

The data covers schools in three South African provinces: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo

Analysis unit

Individuals and institutions

Universe

The study covered grade 3 and grade 6 learners in the sampled schools, and principals, teachers and schools in the 8 schools selected for the case studies.

Kind of data

Qualitative and quantitative data

Sampling procedure

A purposeful school sampling approach was used to identify 30 exceptional rural and township primary schools in South Africa. Three provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Limpopo) were chosen to represent different levels of administrative functionality: Gauteng (a highly functional administration), KwaZulu-Natal (medium functionality) and Limpopo (low functionality). System-wide low stakes testing data, the Annual National Assessments were used to identify top performing primary schools in these regions. This information was corroborated against a large dataset of "good" schools compiled by RESEP of from recommendations by stakeholders such as district officials, school principals and administrative clerks, education related NGOs, and unions. 30 schools which performed less well but were located in the same geographic locations as the higher performing pairs were also included in the sample. The schools in the final sample were also selected based on language, namely Sepedi, Xitsonga or Zulu needed to be their language of instruction or the dominant student language in the school.

Mode of data collection

Other [oth]

Research instrument

Survey instruments included literacy test sheets, questionnaires to collect contextual information, and school management and leadership questionnaires.