Uganda’s Literacy Rate now at 81%
By Racheal Nuwahereza
Uganda Bureau of Statistics has today released a report that revealed that the literacy rate for the male Ugandans aged 10 and above has reached 81% and for female Ugandans aged 10 and above has reached 72% as of 2019/2020.
The UBOS 2016/2017 report released five years ago revealed that the literacy rate for male Ugandans was 78% while for females it stood at 70% pointing to an increase in Literacy of both Males and Females of 10 years and above.
Consequently, Uganda’s general literacy rate has risen from 74% where it was 5 years ago in 2016 to 76.5% in 2020.
The statement also revealed that adult literacy for persons 18 years and above was realized more in Males than Females in both 2016/17 and 2019/20 findings. Adult literacy rates were highest in Kampala (92%), Buganda South (83%), Ankole (79%) and it was lowest in Karamoja sub region at 25%.
The literacy rate is defined by the percentage of the population of a given age group that can read and write.
In the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations set a target of ensuring countries reach youth literacy rate of 94% and adult literacy rate of 90% by 2030.
