Society · Adult literacy rate · Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire’s adult literacy rate was 50% of adults in 2021.
50% of adults
2021
Down 7 pp from 2019.
Stale — last updated 18 Oct 2026
In plain words
50% of adults
What it is. The adult literacy rate is the share of adults who can read and write a short, simple statement about everyday life. It covers the whole adult population, so older people who never went to school count alongside recent school leavers, and the figure moves slowly as generations replace one another. It records a basic threshold. Comfort with longer documents, numeracy and digital skills sit outside it.
Higher is better. A higher rate is better because more adults can handle written instructions, forms, contracts and job notices without help. The latest figure is 50% of adults, for January 2021. Since 1988 the range runs from a low of 34.1% of adults in January 1988 to a high of 57% of adults in January 2019. The latest reading therefore sits in the upper part of its range and below the 2019 peak.
Why it matters. In Côte d'Ivoire, a literacy rate of 50% of adults shapes everyday tasks such as following medicine labels, reading a loan or rental agreement and using mobile banking messages. Employers draw on a workforce where basic written instructions reach only part of the adult population, and training schemes often need to allow for that. For the state, adult education and school completion remain the main routes to raise the rate from 50% of adults.
| Period | Adult literacy rate · Côte d’Ivoire |
|---|---|
| 1988 | 34.1% of adults |
| 1998 | 36.3% of adults |
| 2000 | 48.7% of adults |
| 2014 | 43.9% of adults |
| 2016 | 50% of adults |
| 2019 | 57% of adults |
| 2021 | 50% of adults |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Adult literacy rate, Côte d’Ivoire, 2021; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 18 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/society/adult-literacy/cote-divoire
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
What this means
Working this out from the published figures…
Strata AI commentary is coming — reviewed, dated, and generated only from the figures on this page.
Methodology
People aged 15 and over who can read and write a short, simple statement about everyday life, as a share of that age group. Unit: % of adults. Literacy is measured in surveys and censuses, so new figures arrive every few years.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series SE.ADT.LITR.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.