Literacy rate in Myanmar
Myanmar: Literacy rate was 93.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate in Myanmar, 1901–2020
Source: UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, literacy rate in Myanmar stood at 93.5%.
That represents a change of up 5.0% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate in Myanmar peaked at 95.8% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 28.4%, in 1901.
Myanmar ranks 64th 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 | 28.4% | 28.4% | 28.4% | 1 |
| 1910s | 29.4% | 29.4% | 29.4% | 1 |
| 1920s | 35.7% | 35.7% | 35.7% | 1 |
| 1930s | 40.2% | 40.2% | 40.2% | 1 |
| 1950s | 57.5% | 57.5% | 57.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 78.6% | 78.6% | 78.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 89.9% | 89.9% | 89.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 90.0% | 84.8% | 95.8% | 4 |
| 2020s | 93.5% | 93.5% | 93.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Myanmar
More education data for Myanmar
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 24.1% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 68.4% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 10 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 120.2% (2018)
- Primary education, teachers 217,561 (2018)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.1 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 119.8% (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate in Myanmar?
- Literacy rate in Myanmar was 93.5% in 2020, according to UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate recorded in Myanmar?
- The highest recorded value was 95.8% in 2018.
- What is the lowest literacy rate recorded in Myanmar?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.4% in 1901.
- How does Myanmar rank for literacy rate?
- Myanmar ranks 64th out of 128 countries with data for 2020.
- Is literacy rate rising or falling in Myanmar?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Myanmar 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.