South Africa vs Vietnam

South Africa vs Vietnam: Adult literacy

Adult literacy: 91.2% in South Africa in 2024 and 96.1% in Vietnam in 2022, by UNESCO estimates. In 2019 the value was higher in Vietnam, by 0.7 percentage points, or 1.01 times that in South Africa.

Watch it change on the map

% of adults · UNESCO

South Africa vs Vietnam: Adult literacyAdult literacy: 91.2% in South Africa in 2024 and 96.1% in Vietnam in 2022, by UNESCO estimates. In 2019 the value was higher in Vietnam, by 0.7 percentage points, or 1.01 times that in South Africa.
South AfricaVietnamWorld

What the numbers say

  • Vietnam has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2009.
  • The world as a whole: 86.8% in 2019.

Every year

% of adults · UNESCO

YearSouth AfricaVietnamWorld
202491.2–87.7
2023––87.6
2022–96.187.4
202190–87.2
2020––87
20199595.886.8
2018––86.8
2017––86.5
201691.7–86.3
201594.4–86
201494.1–85.6
2013––85.2
201293.7–84.9
201193.1–84.7
201092.9–84.4
200992.993.583.8
2008––83.5
200788.7–83.1
2006––82.5
2005––82.6
2004––82.6
2003––82.2
2002––81.7
2001––81.4
2000–90.281.1
1999–90.380.9
1998––80.5
1997––79.3
199682.4–77.3
1995––76.9
1994––76.4
1993––76
1992––75.5
1991––75.1
1990––74.6
1989–87.674.1
1988––73.6
1987––71.9
1986––71.3
1985––70.7
1984––70.2
1983––69.5
1982––68.9
1981––68.4
198076.2–67.8
1979–83.867.2
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

South Africa vs Vietnam

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