Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female was 92.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Sri Lanka, 1981–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Sri Lanka is 92.1%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Sri Lanka peaked at 92.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 82.0%, in 1981.
That places Sri Lanka 43rd out of 89 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 82.0% | — |
| 2001 | 89.1% | +8.7% |
| 2006 | 89.1% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 89.1% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 90.0% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 91.7% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 91.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 91.5% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 91.0% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 90.8% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 91.6% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 91.6% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 91.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 91.8% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 92.0% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 92.1% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 82.0% | 82.0% | 82.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 89.1% | 89.1% | 89.1% | 3 |
| 2010s | 91.2% | 90.0% | 91.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 91.8% | 91.6% | 92.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Sri Lanka?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female in Sri Lanka was 92.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 92.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 82.0% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female?
- Sri Lanka ranks 43rd out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, female rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.
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CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release