Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female was 76.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female in Bangladesh, 1981–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Bangladesh recorded 76.5% for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female in 2022.
The figure is down 4.3% on the previous year and up 15.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female in Bangladesh peaked at 80.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 34.1%, in 1981.
Bangladesh ranks 46th of 59 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 34.1% | — |
| 1991 | 44.0% | +29.2% |
| 2001 | 57.1% | +29.6% |
| 2011 | 66.6% | +16.7% |
| 2012 | 66.5% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 70.9% | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 71.4% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 72.9% | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 78.3% | +7.3% |
| 2017 | 78.4% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 79.2% | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 79.7% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 79.8% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 80.0% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 76.5% | -4.3% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 76.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 76.7%, 100% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female in Bangladesh changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +29.6% | 44.0% | 57.1% |
| 1991 | +29.2% | 34.1% | 44.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 34.1% | 34.1% | 34.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 44.0% | 44.0% | 44.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 57.1% | 57.1% | 57.1% | 1 |
| 2010s | 73.8% | 66.5% | 79.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 78.8% | 76.5% | 80.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More education data for Bangladesh
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 571,690 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 387,056 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.73 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.77 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.07 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 16.69 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.67 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0961 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female in Bangladesh?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female in Bangladesh was 76.5% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 80.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.1% in 1981.
- How does Bangladesh rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female?
- Bangladesh ranks 46th out of 59 countries with data for 2022.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release