Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, urban, female (number) by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
40
Highest
9.18 million
Pakistan
Lowest
1
Uzbekistan
Median
275,487
Years covered
35
1990–2024
Data points
374
What the numbers show
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, urban, female (number) is currently reported for 40 countries. The highest value is 9.18 million in Pakistan; the lowest is 1 in Uzbekistan.
The median across all reporting countries is 275,487, and the mean is 1.03 million.
Over the past decade 19 countries rose and 21 fell. The largest increase was in Jordan (up 488.1%), and the largest decrease in Uzbekistan (down 99.9%).
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, urban, female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pakistan | 9.18 million | 2019 | up 23.0% | rising |
| 2 | Bangladesh | 7.26 million | 2022 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 3 | Brazil | 3.87 million | 2018 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 4 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 3.30 million | 2016 | up 8.5% | rising |
| 5 | Morocco | 2.61 million | 2014 | up 0.8% | flat |
| 6 | Indonesia | 1.78 million | 2020 | down 22.9% | falling |
| 7 | Türkiye | 1.66 million | 2015 | down 27.3% | falling |
| 8 | Mexico | 1.40 million | 2020 | down 17.4% | falling |
| 9 | Senegal | 1.13 million | 2017 | up 53.6% | rising |
| 10 | South Africa | 935,508 | 2024 | up 105.0% | rising |
| 11 | Mozambique | 912,818 | 2020 | up 20.8% | rising |
| 12 | Burkina Faso | 842,644 | 2019 | up 129.5% | rising |
| 13 | Mali | 731,041 | 2018 | down 5.2% | flat |
| 14 | Thailand | 671,030 | 2018 | up 67.3% | rising |
| 15 | Peru | 521,794 | 2020 | up 26.1% | falling |
| 16 | Uganda | 518,685 | 2014 | up 241.8% | volatile |
| 17 | Guatemala | 493,985 | 2018 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 18 | Colombia | 486,753 | 2020 | down 22.0% | falling |
| 19 | Malaysia | 441,303 | 2022 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 20 | Spain | 279,842 | 2020 | down 32.4% | falling |
| 21 | Togo | 271,132 | 2019 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 22 | Jordan | 263,620 | 2024 | up 488.1% | rising |
| 23 | Cambodia | 206,527 | 2019 | up 27.7% | rising |
| 24 | Chile | 202,907 | 2017 | up 21.9% | rising |
| 25 | Philippines | 169,762 | 2020 | down 35.7% | falling |
| 26 | El Salvador | 162,920 | 2024 | up 2.4% | falling |
| 27 | Dominican Republic | 154,220 | 2024 | up 20.7% | falling |
| 28 | Honduras | 125,513 | 2019 | up 12.8% | rising |
| 29 | Ecuador | 97,582 | 2022 | down 39.9% | falling |
| 30 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 86,767 | 2023 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 31 | Sri Lanka | 81,590 | 2024 | down 9.8% | rising |
| 32 | Paraguay | 62,852 | 2020 | up 26.6% | rising |
| 33 | Oman | 43,361 | 2022 | down 53.7% | falling |
| 34 | Palestine, State of | 42,052 | 2022 | down 35.8% | falling |
| 35 | Kuwait | 22,421 | 2018 | down 14.9% | falling |
| 36 | Uruguay | 12,752 | 2022 | down 27.3% | falling |
| 37 | Azerbaijan | 4,020 | 2023 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 38 | Georgia | 1,341 | 2024 | down 25.7% | flat |
| 39 | Armenia | 1,190 | 2020 | down 11.9% | volatile |
| 40 | Uzbekistan | 1 | 2022 | down 99.9% | volatile |
About this data
February 2026 Data Release