Numeracy development in Africa: New evidence from a long-term perspective (1730–1970)

Historical evidence of numeracy on the African continent since the 18th century is presented for the first time based on a panel dataset of 43 African countries covering the periods before, during and after colonialism (1730–1970). Estimates of numeracy draw on the age-heaping methodology: we carefully discuss the potential biases and sources of measurement error concerning the use of this index for long-term analyses. These new estimates enable us to gain a better understanding of longterm African development. We find that the evolution of numeracy over time correlates with differences in colonial education systems, even when controlling for other variables.