Bangladesh vs India: Literacy rates among adults
Bangladesh
79.0%
in 2022
India
78.2%
in 2024
Bangladesh rank
59th
India rank
62nd
Literacy rates among adults over time
- Bangladesh
- India
How they compare
Bangladesh currently reports 79.0% against 78.2% in India, a difference of 0.8%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 10 shared years of data; in 1981 it was India ahead.
Bangladesh ranks 59th and India ranks 62nd of 89 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Bangladesh averaged higher in 1 and India in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bangladesh | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 29.2% | 40.8% | 11.5% | India |
| 1990s | 35.3% | 48.2% | 12.9% | India |
| 2000s | 47.5% | 61.0% | 13.5% | India |
| 2010s | 66.3% | 71.9% | 5.6% | India |
| 2020s | 76.8% | 76.0% | 0.8% | Bangladesh |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher literacy rates among adults, Bangladesh or India?
- Bangladesh, at 79.0% against 78.2% in India as of 2022.
- What is the difference in literacy rates among adults between Bangladesh and India?
- 0.8%, with Bangladesh ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bangladesh and India?
- 10 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2022.
- How do Bangladesh and India rank globally for literacy rates among adults?
- Bangladesh ranks 59th and India ranks 62nd of 89 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Literacy rates among adults. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of the population aged 15 years and older who can read and write.