Literacy rate in Spain
Spain: Literacy rate was 99.7% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate in Spain, 1475–2021
Source: UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, literacy rate in Spain stood at 99.7%. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate in Spain peaked at 99.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 1475.
That places Spain 5th out of 128 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1470s | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 1 |
| 1550s | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 1 |
| 1650s | 5.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 1 |
| 1750s | 8.0% | 8.0% | 8.0% | 1 |
| 1900s | 41.3% | 41.3% | 41.3% | 1 |
| 1910s | 47.8% | 47.8% | 47.8% | 1 |
| 1920s | 56.0% | 56.0% | 56.0% | 1 |
| 1940s | 76.8% | 76.8% | 76.8% | 1 |
| 1950s | 82.5% | 82.5% | 82.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 92.8% | 92.8% | 92.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 96.5% | 96.5% | 96.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 97.7% | 97.2% | 97.9% | 6 |
| 2010s | 98.1% | 97.8% | 98.4% | 8 |
| 2020s | 99.1% | 98.6% | 99.7% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More education data for Spain
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 12.6% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 248,253 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.22 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 103.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate in Spain?
- Literacy rate in Spain was 99.7% in 2021, according to UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 99.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest literacy rate recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 1475.
- How does Spain rank for literacy rate?
- Spain ranks 5th out of 128 countries with data for 2021.
- Is literacy rate rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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 — 27 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.