Botswana ranked 12th in African literacy

Staff Writer | Wednesday July 10, 2013 00:00

The figure is less than those of countries in the region like South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mauritius and Zimbabwe, which invest heavily in education. The top rated African country for the third time is Zimbabwe with 90.9 percent.

Zimbabwe is the only country with over 90 percent score. It is followed by Equatorial Guinea, with 87 percent while South Africa and Kenya follow with 86.4 and 85.1 percent respectively. At the tail end is Burkina Faso with 21.8 percent.  Tunisia's literacy rate stands at 74.3 percent, Nigeria (68 percent) and Ghana (57. 9 percent). The two West African countries have had a long time reputation for good standards in education but they are now ranked 22 and 33 respectively.

The African Economist's rates are based on the most common definition of literacy - the ability to read and write at the age of 15 and above.