UNESCO | Education - Literacy in Africa

Literacy in Africa

Literacy remains a major barrier to the development of African countries. Despite the progress achieved since 1990, the absolute number of African adults who cannot read or write is increased from 131.4 million in 1990 to 136 million in 2000. Strong demographic growth is one of the major factors.

In 2000, the average literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa was 52 per cent for women and 68.9 per cent for men, with gender disparities prevailing in 75 per cent of the countries in the region. These figures often hide complex social, cultural and economical realities. For instance, the African continent is marked by strong regional differences in literacy levels (i.e. Western African countries are less literate, with Southern African countries being the most literate).

Literacy policies in Africa are diverse, but they commonly suffer from a lack of financial, material and human resources. However, there are also positive trends. First, there is the growing involvement of NGOs, civil society organizations and local communities in promoting literacy in the region. Second, there are more initiatives proposing literacy programmes and services. And finally, there is a greater effort to make these developments and initiatives better known.