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South Africa - Youth Literacy Rate 2025

Name: South Africa Youth Literacy Rate 2025
Creator: World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Literacy rate among youth ages 15-24 · World Bank

96.84% −0.33pp from 2024 Global rank: 41st

South Africa's youth literacy rate was 96.84% in 2025, decreased +0.33pp from 97.17% in 2024. This was the 41st highest globally.

Global Ranking - 2025▾

Youth Literacy Rate by Country - 2025
Rank	Country	Value	YoY
1st	Bhutan	103.09%	5.5%
2nd	Eswatini	101.34%	2.7%
3rd	Belize	100.93%	5.0%
4th	Cabo Verde	100.77%	2.5%
5th	Mauritius	100.70%	0.9%
6th	Saudi Arabia	100.61%	0.7%
7th	Mongolia	100.15%	0.7%
8th	United Arab Emirates	100.09%	0.5%
9th	Uzbekistan	100.00%	0.0%
10th	Oman	99.96%	0.3%
11th	Serbia	99.96%	0.2%
12th	Albania	99.91%	0.9%
13th	Azerbaijan	99.87%	0.0%
14th	Ecuador	99.83%	0.7%
15th	Armenia	99.75%	-0.1%
16th	Viet Nam	99.52%	0.5%
17th	Bolivia, Plurinational State of	99.48%	0.0%
18th	Peru	99.47%	0.0%
19th	Philippines	99.46%	-0.3%
20th	Bahrain	99.44%	-0.1%
21st	Georgia	99.43%	-0.2%
22nd	West Bank and Gaza	99.42%	0.0%
23rd	Brazil	99.39%	0.0%
24th	Panama	99.22%	0.0%
25th	Mexico	99.21%	0.0%
26th	Chile	99.19%	-0.1%
27th	Tunisia	99.12%	1.0%
28th	Sri Lanka	99.03%	-0.1%
29th	Uruguay	99.01%	0.0%
30th	Colombia	98.93%	0.0%
31st	Iran, Islamic Republic of	98.88%	0.1%
32nd	Malaysia	98.87%	0.1%
33rd	Paraguay	98.75%	0.1%
34th	Thailand	98.51%	0.3%
35th	Jordan	98.33%	-0.9%
36th	India	98.15%	1.1%
37th	Dominican Republic	98.08%	-0.1%
38th	El Salvador	98.06%	-0.2%
39th	Lesotho	97.79%	1.4%
40th	Nepal	97.09%	5.1%
41st	South Africa	96.84%	-0.3%
42nd	Egypt, Arab Republic of	96.21%	1.1%
43rd	Cambodia	96.02%	-0.6%
44th	Guatemala	95.94%	0.6%
45th	Honduras	95.49%	-0.3%
46th	Vanuatu	95.08%	1.2%
47th	Bangladesh	94.32%	0.9%
48th	Togo	94.19%	4.2%
49th	Papua New Guinea	94.16%	2.4%
50th	Lao PDR	93.38%	3.3%
51st	Indonesia	93.07%	-0.8%
52nd	Rwanda	92.38%	2.7%
53rd	Türkiye	92.13%	-0.1%
54th	Namibia	91.86%	-0.3%
55th	Trinidad and Tobago	91.70%	-0.3%
56th	Tanzania	87.54%	0.5%
57th	Timor-Leste	87.22%	2.8%
58th	Zambia	85.64%	-0.1%
59th	Guinea-Bissau	83.74%	1.8%
60th	Nigeria	80.01%	-1.7%
61st	Mozambique	72.45%	1.4%
62nd	Senegal	71.84%	6.5%
63rd	Benin	71.79%	0.8%
64th	Burkina Faso	66.00%	5.1%
65th	Afghanistan	62.78%	0.2%
66th	Niger	61.62%	14.3%

FAQ

What was South Africa's youth literacy rate in 2025?▾

South Africa's youth literacy rate in 2025 was 96.84%. This ranked 41st globally.

How did South Africa's youth literacy rate change in 2025?▾

South Africa's youth literacy rate decreased by 0.3% in 2025 compared to 2024.

Which country had the highest youth literacy rate in 2025?▾

Bhutan had the highest youth literacy rate in 2025 at 103.09%.

What is the youth literacy rate of South Africa in 2025?▾

The youth literacy rate of South Africa in 2025 was 96.84%. This ranked 41st globally.

How does 2025 compare to 2024 for South Africa's youth literacy rate?▾

South Africa's youth literacy rate went from 97.17% in 2024 to 96.84% in 2025, a 0.3% decrease.

← 2024

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