Literacy rate in Chile
Chile: Literacy rate was 96.4% in 2017. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate in Chile, 1907–2017
Source: UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Chile recorded 96.4% for literacy rate in 2017.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate in Chile peaked at 96.9% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 50.1%, in 1907.
Chile ranks 46th of 128 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 50.1% | 50.1% | 50.1% | 1 |
| 1920s | 63.1% | 63.1% | 63.1% | 1 |
| 1930s | 75.6% | 75.6% | 75.6% | 1 |
| 1940s | 73.6% | 73.6% | 73.6% | 1 |
| 1950s | 77.5% | 77.5% | 77.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 91.1% | 91.1% | 91.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 94.3% | 94.3% | 94.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 95.7% | 95.7% | 95.7% | 1 |
| 2010s | 96.6% | 96.3% | 96.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Chile
More education data for Chile
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 68.9% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 16.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 99.5% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 94,708 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.14 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 97.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate in Chile?
- Literacy rate in Chile was 96.4% in 2017, according to UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate recorded in Chile?
- The highest recorded value was 96.9% in 2015.
- What is the lowest literacy rate recorded in Chile?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.1% in 1907.
- How does Chile rank for literacy rate?
- Chile ranks 46th out of 128 countries with data for 2017.
- Is literacy rate rising or falling in Chile?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Chile data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of adults who can read and write a simple statement about their everyday life.