Society · Adult literacy rate · Senegal
Senegal’s adult literacy rate was 50.4% of adults in 2023.
50.4% of adults
2023
Up 3.5 pp from 2019.
Stale — last updated 18 Oct 2026
In plain words
50.4% of adults
What it is. The adult literacy rate is the share of the adult population who can read and write a short, simple statement about everyday life. The threshold is basic, so a person who manages a plain sentence about daily matters counts as literate. The measure leaves out how well people follow longer texts or handle numbers. Because it covers all adults, it moves slowly as younger, more schooled cohorts replace older ones.
Higher is better. A higher rate is better because more adults can read instructions, forms and messages without help. The latest figure for Senegal is 50.4% of adults, for 2023. Since 2006 the lowest reading was 41.9% of adults in 2006 and the highest was 51.9% of adults in 2017. The 2023 figure therefore sits close to the top of its range since 2006, a little below the 2017 peak.
Why it matters. At 50.4% of adults, literacy in Senegal is far from universal. For households, that shapes who can follow a medicine label or a loan paper without relying on someone else. Firms that depend on written instructions or record keeping draw on a workforce where many adults cannot read them. The state has to plan adult education and public information with that in mind, for example by using spoken and visual formats alongside print.
| Period | Adult literacy rate · Senegal |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 41.9% of adults |
| 2009 | 48% of adults |
| 2011 | 51.8% of adults |
| 2013 | 43.5% of adults |
| 2015 | 43.6% of adults |
| 2016 | 46.1% of adults |
| 2017 | 51.9% of adults |
| 2018 | 46.6% of adults |
| 2019 | 46.8% of adults |
| 2023 | 50.4% 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, Senegal, 2023; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 18 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/society/adult-literacy/senegal
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.