In our society, knowledge is power, so we tried to seek out the most educated countries in Africa.
Education is important to help ensure a brighter future. It not only increases your knowledge, it helps you establish a schedule and socialize with others. Education systems are different in each continent and especially in each country, so it can be sometimes difficult to gauge whether or not one is better than the other, but generally there’s some type of standard to help determine this.
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We have to first point out that Africa is a very large and culturally diverse continent, so there are countries that are pretty well developed. There are so many beautiful and intelligent people here. However, in some areas there are limited resources, so education can appear to be quite scarce. That doesn’t seem to be the case, though, as evidenced by the list we’ve created here. We also created a similar list about the 10 Most Educated Countries in Asia if you’re interested in learning more about education systems in other continents.
In order to create this list in the best way possible, we first considered the GER (Gross Enrollment Ratio) for the tertiary level of education. According to UNESCO’s statistics, only a small percentage of people in this continent complete the tertiary level of education, though, so we opted instead to look at the rate of literacy. The rate of literacy isn’t the best indicator of education in most circumstances, but in this case, it provided a better figure and a clearer picture. To find the rate of literacy in these countries we took a look at The African Economist, and World Bank. To learn about how the education systems work, we looked at Classbase. Without further ado, let’s take a look a the 10 most educated countries in Africa.
10. Libya:
Rate of literacy: 82.60%
Libya is one of the richest countriest in Africa thanks to its oil reserves. The country recently underwent a civil war, but things seem to be much more stable now. Primary education in Libya is free and also compulsory.
9. Republic of the Congo:
Rate of literacy: 83.80%
This country has been undergoing constitutional crisis for decades. Naturally, its education system has suffered severely due to this. Even though the country boasts a high rate of literacy, there’s only a handful of universities here.
8. Mauritius:
Rate of literacy: 84.40%
The education system in Mauritius is based on British education system and has been since its independence. The island nation is a tourist destination and has been relatively free of political and social turmoil.
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7. Lesotho:
Rate of literacy: 84.80%
Very recently the entire education system of Lesotho underwent significant reforms. Previously, the country did not offer free primary education to its citizens, but since 2010, primary education has become entirely free and also compulsory. In fact, the new reforms are still being implemented here. However, the country only has three tertiary educational institutions: Lesotho Agricultural College, the National University of Lesotho, and the University’s International School.
6. Sao Tome and Principe:
Rate of literacy: 84.90%
The rate of literacy in Sao Tome and Principe is almost identical to Lesotho, however the circumstances are not. Sao Tome and Principe is another island nation to make our list that recently attained its independence rather peacefully from Portugal in 1975. The country’s education system is controversial, to say the least. Allegations like poor educational planning and management, shortage of classrooms and proper infrastructures have been made by international observers, which is not a good sign. But the rate of literacy is considerably high even so, which is why it ranks on our list of the 10 Most Educated Countries in Africa.
5. Namibia:
Rate of literacy: 85.00%
Education in Namibia is compulsory for 10 years between the ages of 6 to 16. The constitution is clear about the government paying for the education of children. However, parents have to provide for other provisions, such as uniforms, hostel fees, and other similar expenses. There are over 1,500 schools in Namibia; however, tertiary level educational institutions are not as numerous.
4. Kenya:
Rate of literacy: 85.10%
The Kenyan government provides for the eight years of primary school. However, education is not compulsory. Kenya was a former British colony, but it achieved its independence in 1963. After its independence, Kenya has undergone massive reforms and political turmoil. There are over 30 universities in Kenya that provide tertiary education. People from neighboring countries also come to Kenya for tertiary education.
3. South Africa:
Rate of literacy: 86.40%
We are continuing our list of most educated countries in Africa with South Africa that is a very well know country throughout the world. South Africa has one of the most powerful economies in the region. Tertiary education is provided by quite a few private and public educational institutions in South Africa. The standard of education is also pretty high.
2. Equatorial Guinea:
Rate of literacy: 87.00%
Primary education is free in Equatorial Guinea. The main tertiary level education institution was established only in 1995. That is considerably short time for the country to have a robust educational system.
1. Zimbabwe:
Rate of literacy: 90.70%
Zimbabwe sits at the very top of our list with a 90.70% literacy rate. The primary language here is English, which makes it relatively easy for students here to pursue tertiary education in other countries if they choose.
Hopefully, our list of most educated countries in Africa taught you something new about education in other continents!
