Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female was 7.26 million in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
7.26 million
Change on year
down 31.6%
World rank
2nd
of 40 countries
All-time high
20.65 million
in 2001
All-time low
7.26 million
in 2022
Years of data
14
1991–2022

Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female in Bangladesh, 1991–2022

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M1991200620221991: 20.0M2001: 20.7M2011: 16.5M2012: 17.3M2013: 19.0M2014: 19.4M2015: 14.9M2016: 11.5M2017: 11.7M2018: 11.3M2019: 11.2M2020: 11.4M2021: 10.6M2022: 7.3M

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

In 2022, adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female in Bangladesh stood at 7.26 million. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 31.6% on the previous year and down 58.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female in Bangladesh peaked at 20.65 million in 2001 and was at its lowest, 7.26 million, in 2022.

Bangladesh ranks 2nd of 40 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.

Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female in Bangladesh, year by year

Annual values for Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female (number) in Bangladesh, 1991 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1991 19.98 million
2001 20.65 million +3.4%
2011 16.49 million -20.1%
2012 17.27 million +4.7%
2013 19.03 million +10.2%
2014 19.40 million +1.9%
2015 14.92 million -23.1%
2016 11.53 million -22.7%
2017 11.71 million +1.5%
2018 11.34 million -3.1%
2019 11.21 million -1.2%
2020 11.45 million +2.1%
2021 10.61 million -7.3%
2022 7.26 million -31.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 19.98 million 19.98 million 19.98 million 1
2000s 20.65 million 20.65 million 20.65 million 1
2010s 14.77 million 11.21 million 19.40 million 9
2020s 9.77 million 7.26 million 11.45 million 3

Countries ranked near Bangladesh

  1. 1 Pakistan 27.93 million compare
  2. 3 Indonesia 3.76 million compare
  3. 4 Mozambique 3.62 million compare
  4. 5 Burkina Faso 3.56 million compare

See the full ranking of 40 places →

More education data for Bangladesh

All data for Bangladesh →

Frequently asked questions

What is adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female in Bangladesh?
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female in Bangladesh was 7.26 million in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female recorded in Bangladesh?
The highest recorded value was 20.65 million in 2001.
What is the lowest adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female recorded in Bangladesh?
The lowest recorded value was 7.26 million in 2022.
How does Bangladesh rank for adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female?
Bangladesh ranks 2nd out of 40 countries with data for 2022.
Is adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female rising or falling in Bangladesh?
Over the last ten years it is down 58.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female in Bangladesh. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/adult-illiterate-population-15-years-rural-female-number/bangladesh/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/adult-illiterate-population-15-years-rural-female-number/bangladesh/">Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female in Bangladesh</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, rural, female (number)
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
40 places, 374 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release