Although literacy rates have improved somehow in recent years, there are still large numbers of people that are illiterates in developing countries. This paper examines the impact of severe economic decline and demographic pressures on youth literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, a cross-sectional data of 39 Sub-Saharan African countries with adequate data information were analyzed. The results from the ANOVA tests indicate that economic decline is statistically significant in explaining youth literacy, while the results from demographic pressures and movement of refugees are inconclusive in explaining youth literacy.