Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Eastern Asia
SDG: Eastern Asia: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male was 98.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Eastern Asia, 1976–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Eastern Asia is 98.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Eastern Asia peaked at 98.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 77.1%, in 1976.
SDG: Eastern Asia ranks 34th of 203 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Eastern Asia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 77.1% | — |
| 1977 | 77.1% | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 78.0% | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 79.0% | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 79.9% | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 80.7% | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 81.4% | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 82.2% | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 82.9% | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 83.6% | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 84.3% | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 85.0% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 88.0% | +3.6% |
| 1989 | 88.4% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 88.8% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 89.1% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 89.5% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 89.8% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 90.1% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 90.4% | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 90.7% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 94.3% | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 94.5% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 94.7% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 94.9% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 95.1% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 95.3% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 95.5% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 95.8% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 96.0% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 96.2% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 96.9% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 97.0% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 97.1% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 97.2% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 97.3% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 97.4% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 97.5% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 97.7% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 97.9% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 98.0% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 98.0% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 98.1% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 98.2% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 98.3% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 98.3% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 98.4% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 98.5% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 98.5% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 77.8% | 77.1% | 79.0% | 4 |
| 1980s | 83.6% | 79.9% | 88.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 91.2% | 88.8% | 94.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 96.0% | 94.9% | 97.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 97.7% | 97.2% | 98.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.4% | 98.3% | 98.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: Eastern Asia
More education data for SDG: Eastern Asia
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 63.20 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.91 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 33.69 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 1.56 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 34.54 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 2.06 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.4947 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 21.53 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 119.59 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.7719 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Eastern Asia?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Eastern Asia was 98.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in SDG: Eastern Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 98.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in SDG: Eastern Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 77.1% in 1976.
- How does SDG: Eastern Asia rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male?
- SDG: Eastern Asia ranks 34th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male rising or falling in SDG: Eastern Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: Eastern Asia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release