Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Spain

Spain: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male was 99.8% in 2021. ▬ Flat

Latest (2021)
99.8%
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
4th
of 88 countries
All-time high
99.8%
in 2021
All-time low
95.9%
in 1981
Years of data
18
1981–2021

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Spain, 1981–2021

0204060801001981200120211981: 95.9 %1991: 98 %2004: 98.1 %2005: 98.6 %2006: 98.6 %2007: 98.6 %2008: 98.4 %2009: 98.5 %2010: 98.5 %2011: 98.5 %2012: 98.6 %2013: 98.8 %2014: 98.7 %2015: 98.8 %2016: 98.8 %2018: 98.9 %2020: 99 %2021: 99.8 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Spain recorded 99.8% for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in 2021. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Spain peaked at 99.8% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 95.9%, in 1981.

That places Spain 4th out of 88 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Spain, year by year

Annual values for Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male (%) in Spain, 1981 to 2021.
Year % Change
1981 95.9%
1991 98.0% +2.2%
2004 98.1% +0.1%
2005 98.6% +0.5%
2006 98.6% -0.1%
2007 98.6% +0.1%
2008 98.4% -0.2%
2009 98.5% +0.1%
2010 98.5% +0.1%
2011 98.5% +0.0%
2012 98.6% +0.1%
2013 98.8% +0.1%
2014 98.7% -0.0%
2015 98.8% +0.0%
2016 98.8% +0.1%
2018 98.9% +0.1%
2020 99.0% +0.1%
2021 99.8% +0.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 95.9% 95.9% 95.9% 1
1990s 98.0% 98.0% 98.0% 1
2000s 98.5% 98.1% 98.6% 6
2010s 98.7% 98.5% 98.9% 8
2020s 99.4% 99.0% 99.8% 2

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 1 Tajikistan 100.0% compare
  2. 1 Uzbekistan 100.0% compare
  3. 3 Azerbaijan 99.8% compare
  4. 5 Armenia 99.8% compare
  5. 6 Georgia 99.8% compare
  6. 7 Serbia 99.6% compare

See the full ranking of 291 places →

More education data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Spain?
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Spain was 99.8% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in Spain?
The highest recorded value was 99.8% in 2021.
What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 95.9% in 1981.
How does Spain rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male?
Spain ranks 4th out of 88 countries with data for 2021.
Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
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, male (%). 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Spain. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 07 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/adult-literacy-rate-population-15-years-male-percent/spain/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/adult-literacy-rate-population-15-years-male-percent/spain/">Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in Spain</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
291 places, 9,521 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release