Maravi

Zimbabwe tops African literacy rate list
This article was written by Our reporter on 8 July, at 03 : 21 AM

Zimbabwe has topped the African literacy rate ranking for a third consecutive year beating all countries on the continent.

The list is published by The African Economist magazine.

The United Nations Development Programme has ranked Zimbabwe at No. 1 since 2009 when it had a rate of 91.2%. On the current list by The African Economist, Zimbabwe is the only country on the African continent with a literacy rate of over 90%.

Shown below is the ranking of African countries by the literacy rate. This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females.

There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition – the ability to read and write at a specified age (15 and above).

Tunisia, which was ranked No. 1 in 2010 comes a distant No. 15 on the new list. Nigeria and Ghana which have had a long time reputation for good standards of education rank 21 and 33 respectively.

Country and Literacy Rate

1. Zimbabwe 90.70
2. Equatorial Guinea 87.00
3. South Africa 86.40
4. Kenya 85.10
5. Namibia 85.00
6. Sao Tome and Principe 84.90
7. Lesotho 84.80
8. Mauritius 84.40
9. Congo, Republic of the 83.80
10. Libya 82.60
11. Swaziland 81.60
12. Botswana 81.20
13. Zambia 80.60
14. Cape Verde 76.60
15. Tunisia 74.30
16. Egypt 71.40
17. Rwanda 70.40
18. Algeria 69.90
19. Tanzania 69.40
20. Madagascar 68.90
21. Nigeria 68.00
22. Cameroon 67.90
23. Djibouti 67.90
24. Angola 67.40
25. Congo, Democratic Republic of the 67.20
26. Uganda 66.80
27. Gabon 63.20
28. Malawi 62.70
29. Sudan 61.10
30. Togo 60.90
31. Burundi 59.30
32. Eritrea 58.60
33. Ghana 57.90
34. Liberia 57.50
35. Comoros 56.50
36. Morocco 52.30
37. Mauritania 51.20
38. Cote d’Ivoire 48.70
39. Central African Republic 48.60
40. Mozambique 47.80
41. Mali 46.40
42. Ethiopia 42.70
43. Guinea-Bissau 42.40
44. Gambia, The 40.10
45. Senegal 39.30
46. Somalia 37.80
47. Sierra Leone 35.10
48. Benin 34.70
49. Guinea 29.50
50. Niger 28.70
51. Chad 25.70
52. Burkina Faso 21.80

Labels: LITERACY, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 6:41 PM