Tonga vs Upper middle income: Literacy rate, adult total

Tonga
99.5%
in 2023
Upper middle income
96.2%
in 2024
Tonga rank
7th
Upper middle income rank
10th

Literacy rate, adult total over time

  • Tonga
  • Upper middle income
020406080100197419992024

How they compare

Tonga currently reports 99.5% against 96.2% in Upper middle income, a difference of 3.3%.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 7 shared years of data; in 1976 it was Tonga ahead.

Tonga ranks 7th and Upper middle income ranks 10th of 89 countries.

Tonga has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Tonga Upper middle income Difference Ahead
1970s 99.6% 66.8% 32.8% Tonga
1990s 98.9% 84.3% 14.6% Tonga
2000s 99.0% 91.8% 7.2% Tonga
2010s 95.9% 94.9% 1.0% Tonga
2020s 99.5% 96.0% 3.4% Tonga

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher literacy rate, adult total, Tonga or Upper middle income?
Tonga, at 99.5% against 96.2% in Upper middle income as of 2023.
What is the difference in literacy rate, adult total between Tonga and Upper middle income?
3.3%, with Tonga ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Tonga and Upper middle income?
7 years are reported by both, from 1976 to 2023.
How do Tonga and Upper middle income rank globally for literacy rate, adult total?
Tonga ranks 7th and Upper middle income ranks 10th of 89 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Tonga vs Upper middle income: Literacy rate, adult total. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/literacy-rate-adult-total-percent-of-people-ages-15-and-above/tonga/upper-middle-income/

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About this data

Indicator
Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)
Unit
% of people ages 15 and above
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
128 places, 2,592 data points, 1973–2024
Last refreshed

Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.