Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Spain
Spain: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female was 99.6% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Spain, 1981–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Spain is 99.6%, measured in 2021. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Spain peaked at 99.6% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 89.9%, in 1981.
That places Spain 6th out of 89 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Spain, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 89.9% | — |
| 1991 | 95.0% | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 96.2% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 96.9% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 97.0% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 97.3% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 96.9% | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 96.9% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 97.0% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 97.1% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 97.2% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 97.4% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 97.5% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 97.5% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 97.7% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 98.0% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 98.2% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 99.6% | +1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 89.9% | 89.9% | 89.9% | 1 |
| 1990s | 95.0% | 95.0% | 95.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 96.9% | 96.2% | 97.3% | 6 |
| 2010s | 97.4% | 97.0% | 98.0% | 8 |
| 2020s | 98.9% | 98.2% | 99.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More education data for Spain
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 344,203 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 37,817 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 570,954 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 538,977 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.71 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.83 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.058 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Spain?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Spain was 99.6% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 99.6% in 2021.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 89.9% in 1981.
- How does Spain rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female?
- Spain ranks 6th out of 89 countries with data for 2021.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release