Sierra Leone’s adult literacy rate was 43.6% of adults in 2019.

Higher is better. A higher rate means more adults can handle written information such as forms, signs and labels, so a rise is an improvement. The latest figure is 43.6% of adults in 2019, down from 48.8% of adults in 2018, a drop of 5.2 percentage points in a year. Since 2004 the rate has ranged from a low of 34.8% of adults in 2004 to a high of 49.4% of adults in 2015. The 2019 figure sits above the 2004 low and below the 2015 high.

Why it matters. At 43.6% of adults, many households in Sierra Leone depend on relatives or neighbours to read medicine labels, school notices and official forms. Employers drawing on this workforce find fewer applicants for roles that involve written instructions or records. For the state, written public information such as health guidance and voter materials reaches a smaller share of adults, and the fall since 2018 gives schooling and adult learning programmes a clear figure to track.