Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income)
WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income): Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes was 94.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income), 1974–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income) stood at 94.7%. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income) peaked at 94.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 77.3%, in 1974.
That places WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income) 64th out of 203 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 77.3% | — |
| 1975 | 77.3% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 77.7% | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 78.2% | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 78.7% | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 79.1% | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 79.5% | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 79.9% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 80.3% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 80.7% | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 81.0% | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 81.4% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 81.7% | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 82.0% | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 82.5% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 82.9% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 83.2% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 83.9% | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 84.6% | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 85.3% | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 86.0% | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 86.7% | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 87.1% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 87.4% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 87.8% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 88.1% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 88.4% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 88.6% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 88.9% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 89.7% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 90.0% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 89.9% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 90.1% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 90.9% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 91.2% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 91.4% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 91.4% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 92.2% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 92.5% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 92.5% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 93.0% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 93.1% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 93.6% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 93.6% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 93.8% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 94.0% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 94.0% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 94.2% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 94.4% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 94.6% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 94.7% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 78.0% | 77.3% | 79.1% | 6 |
| 1980s | 81.2% | 79.5% | 82.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 86.0% | 83.2% | 88.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 89.9% | 88.4% | 91.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 93.0% | 91.4% | 94.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 94.4% | 94.0% | 94.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income)
More education data for WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 2.79 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.7495 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 28.66 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.4904 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 29.16 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.8527 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 57.82 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), annual growth rate -0.2089 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate -0.2209 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 18.36 million (2024)
All data for WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income)?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income) was 94.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes recorded in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income)?
- The highest recorded value was 94.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes recorded in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 77.3% in 1974.
- How does WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income) rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes?
- WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income) ranks 64th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes rising or falling in WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this WB: Latin America & Caribbean (excluding High Income) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release