Literacy rate in Uruguay
Uruguay: Literacy rate was 98.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate in Uruguay, 1950–2024
Source: UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy rate in Uruguay is 98.9%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate in Uruguay peaked at 99.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 82.5%, in 1950.
Uruguay ranks 13th of 128 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 82.5% | 82.5% | 82.5% | 1 |
| 1970s | 93.9% | 93.9% | 93.9% | 1 |
| 1980s | 95.4% | 95.4% | 95.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 96.8% | 96.8% | 96.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 98.0% | 97.8% | 98.3% | 4 |
| 2010s | 98.5% | 98.1% | 98.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.9% | 98.8% | 99.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Uruguay
More education data for Uruguay
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.9% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 104.5% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 18,882 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.4 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 104.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate in Uruguay?
- Literacy rate in Uruguay was 98.9% in 2024, according to UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate recorded in Uruguay?
- The highest recorded value was 99.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest literacy rate recorded in Uruguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 82.5% in 1950.
- How does Uruguay rank for literacy rate?
- Uruguay ranks 13th out of 128 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate rising or falling in Uruguay?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uruguay 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.
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CSV · JSON — 22 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.