Lesotho vs South Africa: Adult literacy
Adult literacy in 2024: 90.5% in Lesotho and 91.2% in South Africa, by UNESCO estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in South Africa, by 0.7 percentage points, or 1.01 times that in Lesotho.
LesothoSouth Africa
Watch it change on the map% of adults · UNESCO · log scale
Latest figures
% of adults · UNESCO
| Country | Latest | 10 years before |
|---|---|---|
| Lesotho | 90.5 2024 | — |
| South Africa | 91.2 2024 | 94.1 |
| World | 87.7 2024 | 85.6 |
What the numbers say
- South Africa has been higher since 2019, when it overtook Lesotho.
- The world as a whole: 87.7% in 2024.
Every year
% of adults · UNESCO
| Year | Lesotho | South Africa | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 90.5 | 91.2 | 87.7 |
| 2023 | – | – | 87.6 |
| 2022 | – | – | 87.4 |
| 2021 | – | 90 | 87.2 |
| 2020 | – | – | 87 |
| 2019 | 92.4 | 95 | 86.8 |
| 2018 | 86.2 | – | 86.8 |
| 2017 | – | – | 86.5 |
| 2016 | 97.3 | 91.7 | 86.3 |
| 2015 | – | 94.4 | 86 |
| 2014 | – | 94.1 | 85.6 |
| 2013 | – | – | 85.2 |
| 2012 | – | 93.7 | 84.9 |
| 2011 | – | 93.1 | 84.7 |
| 2010 | – | 92.9 | 84.4 |
| 2009 | – | 92.9 | 83.8 |
| 2008 | – | – | 83.5 |
| 2007 | – | 88.7 | 83.1 |
| 2006 | 66.1 | – | 82.5 |
| 2005 | – | – | 82.6 |
| 2004 | – | – | 82.6 |
| 2003 | – | – | 82.2 |
| 2002 | – | – | 81.7 |
| 2001 | – | – | 81.4 |
| 2000 | 86.3 | – | 81.1 |
| 1999 | – | – | 80.9 |
| 1998 | – | – | 80.5 |
| 1997 | – | – | 79.3 |
| 1996 | – | 82.4 | 77.3 |
| 1995 | – | – | 76.9 |
| 1994 | – | – | 76.4 |
| 1993 | – | – | 76 |
| 1992 | – | – | 75.5 |
| 1991 | – | – | 75.1 |
| 1990 | – | – | 74.6 |
| 1989 | – | – | 74.1 |
| 1988 | – | – | 73.6 |
| 1987 | – | – | 71.9 |
| 1986 | – | – | 71.3 |
| 1985 | – | – | 70.7 |
| 1984 | – | – | 70.2 |
| 1983 | – | – | 69.5 |
| 1982 | – | – | 68.9 |
| 1981 | – | – | 68.4 |
| 1980 | – | 76.2 | 67.8 |
| 1979 | – | – | 67.2 |
| 1978 | – | – | 66.5 |
| 1977 | – | – | 65.9 |
| 1976 | – | – | 65.6 |
| 1975 | – | – | 65.4 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- The share of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a short, simple statement about their everyday life.
- Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, via the World Bank.
- The faint line is the world as a whole, as the same source counts it.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time