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South Africa - Literacy Rate 2016

Name: South Africa Literacy Rate 2016
Creator: World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Adult literacy rate · World Bank

91.74% −2.63pp from 2015 Global rank: 27th

South Africa's literacy rate was 91.74% in 2016, decreased +2.63pp from 94.37% in 2015. This was the 27th highest globally.

Global Ranking - 2016▾

Literacy Rate by Country - 2016
Rank	Country	Value	YoY
1st	Uzbekistan	99.99%	0.0%
2nd	Azerbaijan	99.79%	0.0%
3rd	Armenia	99.74%	0.0%
4th	Samoa	99.40%	0.4%
5th	Serbia	98.84%	0.9%
6th	Uruguay	98.56%	0.0%
7th	Spain	98.25%	0.1%
8th	Maldives	97.73%	-0.9%
9th	Lesotho	97.27%	47.2%
10th	Tonga	97.15%	-2.3%
11th	Singapore	97.05%	0.2%
12th	West Bank and Gaza	96.72%	0.2%
13th	Macao SAR, China	96.54%	0.9%
14th	Türkiye	95.86%	0.3%
15th	Indonesia	95.38%	0.2%
16th	Malaysia	94.88%	1.9%
17th	Mexico	94.86%	0.4%
18th	Colombia	94.65%	0.4%
19th	Paraguay	94.65%	-0.9%
20th	Ecuador	94.35%	-0.1%
21st	Peru	94.17%	0.0%
22nd	Dominican Republic	93.78%	1.9%
23rd	Mauritius	93.16%	0.5%
24th	Brazil	92.81%	0.8%
25th	Sri Lanka	92.39%	-0.2%
26th	Thailand	91.98%	-1.0%
27th	South Africa	91.74%	-2.8%
28th	Honduras	88.99%	1.2%
29th	Namibia	88.20%	-0.1%
30th	El Salvador	88.14%	0.2%
31st	Iran, Islamic Republic of	85.54%	0.3%
32nd	Myanmar	84.78%	-6.2%
33rd	Iraq	83.30%	1.3%
34th	Congo, Democratic Republic of	77.04%	2.7%
35th	Bangladesh	72.76%	11.7%
36th	Uganda	69.10%	0.9%
37th	Timor-Leste	65.78%	2.1%
38th	Burundi	65.69%	7.2%
39th	Nepal	65.50%	9.8%
40th	Nigeria	58.22%	-17.1%
41st	Côte d'Ivoire	50.04%	14.0%
42nd	Senegal	46.10%	5.8%
43rd	Chad	22.31%	-21.4%

FAQ

What was South Africa's literacy rate in 2016?▾

South Africa's literacy rate in 2016 was 91.74%. This ranked 27th globally.

How did South Africa's literacy rate change in 2016?▾

South Africa's literacy rate decreased by 2.8% in 2016 compared to 2015.

Which country had the highest literacy rate in 2016?▾

Uzbekistan had the highest literacy rate in 2016 at 99.99%.

What is the literacy rate of South Africa in 2016?▾

The literacy rate of South Africa in 2016 was 91.74%. This ranked 27th globally.

How does 2016 compare to 2015 for South Africa's literacy rate?▾

South Africa's literacy rate went from 94.37% in 2015 to 91.74% in 2016, a 2.8% decrease.

← 2015