Statizoid

Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, % female by country

Share of the adult illiterate population (age 15+) that is female.

Countries reporting
87
Highest
99.9%
Uzbekistan
Lowest
16.6%
Qatar
Median
62.1%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
2,267

What the numbers show

Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, % female is currently reported for 87 countries. The highest value is 99.9% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 16.6% in Qatar.

The median across all reporting countries is 62.1%, and the mean is 60.7%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 6.

Over the past decade 35 countries rose and 52 fell. The largest increase was in Uzbekistan (up 144.4%), and the largest decrease in Maldives (down 37.3%).

Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, % female: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Uzbekistan 99.9% 2018 up 144.4% rising
2 Türkiye 85.3% 2017 up 1.6% rising
3 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 76.7% 2015 down 1.6% rising
4 Montenegro 76.7% 2018 down 6.7% rising
5 Singapore 76.3% 2018 up 2.6% flat
6 Palestine, State of 75.7% 2018 down 0.1% flat
7 China 75.3% 2018 up 2.3% rising
8 Macao 75.2% 2016 up 0.4% rising
9 Peru 74.7% 2018 down 1.0% flat
10 Sao Tome and Principe 73.5% 2018 up 8.7% flat
11 Nepal 71.1% 2018 up 6.4% rising
12 Republic of Moldova 70.5% 2014 down 5.3% falling
13 Iraq 69.5% 2017 up 1.0% flat
14 Indonesia 69.2% 2018 down 1.5% flat
15 Morocco 68.9% 2018 up 4.6% rising
16 Togo 68.7% 2015 up 4.2% flat
17 Azerbaijan 68.2% 2017 down 13.3% falling
18 Portugal 68.0% 2018 down 0.4% flat
19 Tunisia 67.5% 2014 down 0.8% rising
20 Lao People's Democratic Republic 67.4% 2015 down 2.0% flat
21 Bahrain 67.2% 2018 up 57.3% rising
22 Mozambique 67.0% 2017 down 2.8% rising
23 Cambodia 66.9% 2015 down 7.6% falling
24 Spain 66.5% 2018 down 0.6% falling
25 Iran 66.2% 2016 up 4.4% rising
26 Algeria 66.0% 2018 up 1.8% flat
27 Guatemala 65.8% 2014 up 6.1% rising
28 Senegal 65.7% 2017 up 8.0% rising
29 Zambia 65.4% 2018 up 2.4% rising
30 Suriname 65.3% 2018 up 12.1% rising
31 Viet Nam 65.2% 2018 down 4.1% falling
32 Greece 64.8% 2018 down 6.0% falling
33 Uganda 64.4% 2018 down 6.0% flat
34 India 64.4% 2018 down 0.9% rising
35 Pakistan 63.8% 2017 up 2.2% rising
36 Brunei Darussalam 63.6% 2018 down 3.5% flat
37 El Salvador 63.4% 2018 up 0.5% rising
38 Saudi Arabia 63.1% 2017 up 9.1% rising
39 Burundi 63.1% 2017 up 12.5% flat
40 Kazakhstan 63.1% 2018 up 1.5% falling
41 Thailand 62.9% 2018 up 22.0% falling
42 Mauritius 62.4% 2018 down 1.1% flat
43 Cameroon 62.4% 2018 down 2.9% flat
44 Tanzania, United Republic of 62.1% 2015 down 2.1% falling
45 Nigeria 61.9% 2018 up 3.2% flat
46 Malaysia 61.3% 2018 down 6.4% flat
47 Malawi 61.2% 2015 down 6.0% flat
48 Mexico 60.7% 2018 down 3.8% flat
49 Benin 60.6% 2018 up 2.6% flat
50 Jordan 60.5% 2018 down 13.4% falling
51 Central African Republic 60.5% 2018 down 1.8% flat
52 Albania 59.6% 2018 down 10.7% falling
53 Egypt 59.4% 2017 down 4.8% flat
54 Rwanda 59.2% 2018 up 0.8% flat
55 Sri Lanka 58.7% 2018 down 2.3% falling
56 Mali 58.6% 2018 up 3.5% rising
57 Burkina Faso 58.3% 2018 up 1.9% rising
58 Ethiopia 58.1% 2017 down 1.5% flat
59 Ecuador 56.4% 2017 down 3.4% flat
60 Panama 56.2% 2018 up 1.7% rising
61 Chad 56.0% 2016 down 3.6% flat
62 Côte d'Ivoire 55.6% 2018 down 4.0% flat
63 Madagascar 55.4% 2018 up 1.5% falling
64 Bangladesh 55.0% 2019 up 6.3% flat
65 South Africa 53.5% 2017 down 9.9% rising
66 Paraguay 53.4% 2018 down 3.7% flat
67 Vanuatu 53.2% 2018 down 2.0% flat
68 Namibia 53.0% 2018 up 9.5% falling
69 Barbados 52.5% 2014 down 0.4% falling
70 Chile 52.2% 2017 up 2.6% flat
71 Eswatini 51.5% 2018 down 9.5% falling
72 Oman 50.8% 2018 down 7.0% falling
73 Dominican Republic 50.5% 2016 up 1.2% flat
74 Honduras 50.3% 2018 down 2.0% flat
75 Brazil 49.8% 2018 down 0.8% falling
76 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 49.5% 2016 down 6.4% falling
77 Grenada 49.4% 2014 down 0.9% falling
78 Colombia 49.2% 2018 down 4.3% flat
79 Argentina 48.8% 2018 down 4.6% flat
80 Philippines 48.5% 2015 up 11.0% falling
81 Kuwait 47.9% 2018 down 7.7% flat
82 Tonga 45.8% 2018 down 3.9% falling
83 Seychelles 43.0% 2018 down 2.9% falling
84 Uruguay 40.2% 2018 down 8.8% falling
85 Malta 36.6% 2018 down 15.3% falling
86 Maldives 28.9% 2016 down 37.3% falling
87 Qatar 16.6% 2017 down 26.2% falling

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, % female by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/adult-illiterate-population-15-years-percent-female/

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About this data

Indicator
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, % female
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
126 places, 2,267 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Share of the adult illiterate population (age 15+) that is female.