Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, % female by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
59
Highest
87.0%
Türkiye
Lowest
16.0%
Qatar
Median
62.0%
Years covered
36
1989–2024
Data points
6,930
What the numbers show
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, % female is currently reported for 59 countries. The highest value is 87.0% in Türkiye; the lowest is 16.0% in Qatar.
The median across all reporting countries is 62.0%, and the mean is 60.0%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 5.
Over the past decade 19 countries rose and 31 fell. The largest increase was in Thailand (up 23.5%), and the largest decrease in Maldives (down 34.0%).
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, % female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Türkiye | 87.0% | 2021 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 2 | Singapore | 78.0% | 2021 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 3 | Palestine, State of | 76.0% | 2022 | down 2.6% | flat |
| 4 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 75.0% | 2023 | up 1.4% | flat |
| 5 | Peru | 73.0% | 2020 | down 3.9% | flat |
| 6 | Serbia | 71.0% | 2022 | down 14.5% | falling |
| 7 | Spain | 70.0% | 2021 | up 2.9% | flat |
| 7 | Iraq | 70.0% | 2017 | unchanged | flat |
| 9 | Togo | 69.0% | 2019 | up 4.5% | flat |
| 9 | Tunisia | 69.0% | 2019 | down 1.4% | flat |
| 11 | Indonesia | 68.0% | 2020 | up 3.0% | flat |
| 11 | Mozambique | 68.0% | 2020 | down 1.4% | flat |
| 13 | Armenia | 67.0% | 2020 | unchanged | falling |
| 13 | India | 67.0% | 2023 | up 3.1% | flat |
| 13 | Jordan | 67.0% | 2024 | up 13.6% | flat |
| 13 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 67.0% | 2015 | down 1.5% | flat |
| 13 | Mauritius | 67.0% | 2016 | up 6.3% | flat |
| 18 | Iran | 66.0% | 2016 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 18 | Oman | 66.0% | 2022 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 18 | Viet Nam | 66.0% | 2022 | down 4.3% | falling |
| 21 | Azerbaijan | 65.0% | 2023 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 21 | Morocco | 65.0% | 2014 | up 1.6% | rising |
| 23 | Georgia | 64.0% | 2024 | unchanged | falling |
| 23 | Cambodia | 64.0% | 2019 | down 5.9% | falling |
| 23 | Senegal | 64.0% | 2017 | up 6.7% | flat |
| 26 | Burundi | 63.0% | 2017 | up 12.5% | flat |
| 26 | Guinea | 63.0% | 2018 | up 5.0% | flat |
| 26 | Pakistan | 63.0% | 2019 | down 1.6% | flat |
| 26 | Thailand | 63.0% | 2018 | up 23.5% | flat |
| 30 | Guatemala | 62.0% | 2018 | down 4.6% | flat |
| 30 | El Salvador | 62.0% | 2024 | down 1.6% | flat |
| 30 | Uganda | 62.0% | 2014 | down 7.5% | flat |
| 33 | Bahrain | 60.0% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 33 | Mexico | 60.0% | 2020 | down 1.6% | flat |
| 33 | Malaysia | 60.0% | 2022 | down 7.7% | falling |
| 36 | Egypt | 59.0% | 2017 | down 4.8% | flat |
| 37 | Ecuador | 58.0% | 2022 | unchanged | flat |
| 37 | Mali | 58.0% | 2018 | up 5.5% | rising |
| 39 | Bangladesh | 57.0% | 2022 | up 3.6% | flat |
| 39 | Sri Lanka | 57.0% | 2024 | down 3.4% | falling |
| 39 | Saudi Arabia | 57.0% | 2024 | unchanged | falling |
| 42 | Timor-Leste | 56.0% | 2022 | unchanged | flat |
| 43 | Burkina Faso | 55.0% | 2019 | down 3.5% | flat |
| 43 | Panama | 55.0% | 2019 | unchanged | rising |
| 45 | Paraguay | 54.0% | 2020 | down 6.9% | falling |
| 45 | South Africa | 54.0% | 2024 | down 12.9% | falling |
| 47 | Chile | 52.0% | 2017 | down 3.7% | flat |
| 48 | Brazil | 50.0% | 2018 | unchanged | flat |
| 48 | Uzbekistan | 50.0% | 2022 | up 22.0% | rising |
| 50 | Colombia | 49.0% | 2020 | down 3.9% | falling |
| 50 | Honduras | 49.0% | 2019 | down 2.0% | flat |
| 50 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 49.0% | 2016 | down 7.5% | falling |
| 53 | Kuwait | 48.0% | 2020 | down 11.1% | flat |
| 53 | Philippines | 48.0% | 2020 | down 4.0% | falling |
| 55 | Dominican Republic | 47.0% | 2024 | down 2.1% | flat |
| 56 | United Arab Emirates | 44.0% | 2024 | up 2.3% | rising |
| 57 | Uruguay | 41.0% | 2022 | down 6.8% | falling |
| 58 | Maldives | 31.0% | 2016 | down 34.0% | falling |
| 59 | Qatar | 16.0% | 2024 | down 33.3% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- WB: Europe & Central Asia (excluding High Income) 84.0%
- UNICEF: Europe and Central Asia Programme Countries 81.0%
- UNICEF: Central and Eastern Europe/commonwealth of Independent States 80.0%
- UNICEF: Eastern Europe and Central Asia 80.0%
- WB: Europe & Central Asia (ida & Ibrd) 79.0%
- UIS: Central and Eastern Europe 78.0%
- MDG: Eastern Asia 76.0%
- ECE: West Balkans (st7) (unsdcode:98205) 75.0%
- UNICEF: Western Balkans 75.0%
- ESCAP: East and North-east Asia (enea) (unsdcode:98408) 74.0%
- ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) 74.0%
- SDG: Eastern Asia 74.0%
- MDG: Western Asia 72.0%
- SDG: Western Asia 72.0%
- UNICEF: East Asia and the Pacific Programme Countries 71.0%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific (ida & Ibrd) 71.0%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific (excluding High Income) 71.0%
- AIMS: East Asia 70.0%
- ESCAP: Other Area (oth_region) (unsdcode:98426) 70.0%
- SDG: Eastern and South-eastern Asia 70.0%
- AIMS: East Asia and the Pacific 69.0%
- UIS: East Asia and the Pacific 69.0%
- UNICEF: East Asia and Pacific 69.0%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific 69.0%
- ESCWA: Maghreb Subregion (unsdcode:98504) 68.0%
- GPE: Upper Middle Income Wb Fy24, December 2024 68.0%
- ALECSO: Maghreb Countries 67.0%
- ECA: Amu (unsdcode:98111) 67.0%
- WB: Late-demographic Dividend 67.0%
- WB: Upper Middle Income (july 2025) 67.0%
- MDG: Eastern Asia (excluding China) 66.0%
- UNICEF: Europe and Central Asia 66.0%
- UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa 66.0%
- WB: Europe & Central Asia 66.0%
- AIMS: Asia and the Pacific 65.0%
- ECA: Eccas (unsdcode:98107) 65.0%
- ESCAP: Asean (asean) (unsdcode:98406) 65.0%
- ESCAP: All Countries (unsdcode:98400) 65.0%
- ESCAP: Lldc (lldc_e) (unsdcode:98412) 65.0%
- ESCAP: South-east Asia (sea) (unsdcode:98419) 65.0%
About this data
February 2026 Data Release