Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) by country
Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.
Countries reporting
88
Highest
100.0%
Tajikistan
Lowest
44.5%
Chad
Median
93.2%
Years covered
51
1974–2024
Data points
2,578
What the numbers show
Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) is currently reported for 88 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Tajikistan; the lowest is 44.5% in Chad.
The median across all reporting countries is 93.2%, and the mean is 87.3%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.
Over the past decade 67 countries rose and 19 fell. The largest increase was in Guinea (up 47.9%), and the largest decrease in Lesotho (down 13.3%).
Literacy rate, adult male: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tajikistan | 100.0% | 2009 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% | 2022 | up 0.0% | flat |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 99.8% | 2023 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 4 | Spain | 99.8% | 2021 | up 1.3% | flat |
| 5 | Armenia | 99.8% | 2023 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 6 | Georgia | 99.8% | 2024 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 7 | Serbia | 99.6% | 2022 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 8 | Palestine, State of | 99.4% | 2024 | up 1.2% | rising |
| 9 | Tonga | 99.3% | 2023 | down 0.1% | falling |
| 10 | Türkiye | 99.3% | 2021 | up 1.4% | rising |
| 11 | Montenegro | 99.2% | 2018 | down 0.3% | rising |
| 12 | United Arab Emirates | 99.0% | 2024 | up 0.8% | rising |
| 13 | Singapore | 98.9% | 2021 | up 0.6% | rising |
| 14 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 98.8% | 2024 | up 2.3% | rising |
| 15 | Bahrain | 98.7% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 16 | Uruguay | 98.6% | 2024 | up 0.6% | rising |
| 17 | Oman | 98.6% | 2022 | up 9.3% | rising |
| 18 | Saudi Arabia | 98.6% | 2024 | up 2.1% | rising |
| 19 | Philippines | 98.4% | 2020 | up 1.4% | rising |
| 20 | China | 98.4% | 2020 | up 0.9% | rising |
| 20 | Mongolia | 98.4% | 2024 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 22 | Samoa | 98.3% | 2019 | down 0.6% | flat |
| 23 | Macau, China | 98.2% | 2016 | up 1.8% | rising |
| 24 | Maldives | 98.2% | 2019 | down 0.2% | rising |
| 25 | Albania | 98.2% | 2023 | down 0.2% | flat |
| 26 | Qatar | 97.8% | 2014 | up 9.8% | rising |
| 27 | Indonesia | 97.5% | 2020 | up 2.8% | rising |
| 28 | Viet Nam | 97.2% | 2022 | up 1.5% | rising |
| 29 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 97.2% | 2017 | up 1.9% | rising |
| 30 | Panama | 97.1% | 2024 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 31 | Kuwait | 97.0% | 2020 | up 1.6% | rising |
| 32 | Peru | 97.0% | 2024 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 33 | Malaysia | 96.8% | 2022 | up 1.5% | rising |
| 34 | Jordan | 96.6% | 2024 | down 1.9% | rising |
| 35 | Chile | 96.5% | 2017 | down 0.4% | rising |
| 36 | Mexico | 96.3% | 2024 | up 0.7% | rising |
| 37 | Mauritius | 96.1% | 2023 | up 2.2% | rising |
| 38 | Paraguay | 95.4% | 2024 | down 0.5% | rising |
| 39 | Colombia | 95.0% | 2024 | up 1.2% | rising |
| 40 | Myanmar | 94.6% | 2020 | up 1.1% | rising |
| 41 | Ecuador | 94.5% | 2024 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 42 | Brazil | 94.5% | 2024 | up 3.4% | rising |
| 43 | Dominican Republic | 93.6% | 2024 | up 2.4% | rising |
| 44 | Sri Lanka | 93.5% | 2024 | up 0.0% | flat |
| 45 | Cape Verde | 92.9% | 2024 | up 1.3% | rising |
| 46 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 92.8% | 2023 | up 3.6% | rising |
| 47 | Tunisia | 92.7% | 2023 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 48 | Sao Tome and Principe | 92.5% | 2019 | down 2.6% | rising |
| 49 | El Salvador | 91.6% | 2024 | up 2.2% | rising |
| 50 | South Africa | 91.5% | 2024 | down 4.0% | rising |
| 51 | Thailand | 90.7% | 2022 | down 4.8% | flat |
| 52 | Iraq | 90.3% | 2021 | up 5.1% | rising |
| 53 | Cambodia | 90.3% | 2023 | up 4.5% | rising |
| 54 | Namibia | 87.9% | 2023 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 55 | Honduras | 87.6% | 2024 | up 0.2% | rising |
| 56 | Guatemala | 86.9% | 2024 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 57 | India | 85.7% | 2024 | up 7.9% | rising |
| 58 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 85.4% | 2023 | down 2.9% | rising |
| 59 | Egypt | 85.3% | 2022 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 60 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 85.1% | 2023 | down 5.4% | rising |
| 61 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 84.2% | 2022 | up 1.0% | rising |
| 62 | Lesotho | 83.2% | 2024 | down 13.3% | rising |
| 63 | Togo | 82.8% | 2022 | up 11.9% | rising |
| 64 | Bangladesh | 81.4% | 2022 | up 32.3% | rising |
| 65 | Ghana | 81.3% | 2021 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 66 | Uganda | 81.3% | 2024 | up 7.6% | rising |
| 67 | Rwanda | 81.0% | 2022 | up 11.8% | rising |
| 68 | Zambia | 80.6% | 2024 | down 9.1% | rising |
| 69 | Nepal | 79.8% | 2019 | up 12.9% | rising |
| 70 | Cameroon | 79.7% | 2018 | up 1.0% | rising |
| 71 | Malawi | 78.6% | 2020 | — | rising |
| 72 | Nigeria | 78.4% | 2024 | up 15.1% | rising |
| 73 | Burundi | 77.9% | 2020 | up 46.6% | rising |
| 74 | Morocco | 75.4% | 2014 | up 14.8% | rising |
| 75 | Mozambique | 74.0% | 2022 | up 9.9% | rising |
| 76 | Timor-Leste | 73.1% | 2022 | up 14.9% | rising |
| 77 | Ethiopia | 71.0% | 2022 | up 17.5% | rising |
| 78 | Pakistan | 69.1% | 2021 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 79 | Côte d'Ivoire | 68.0% | 2022 | up 34.2% | rising |
| 80 | Benin | 62.6% | 2022 | up 32.6% | rising |
| 81 | Senegal | 61.5% | 2023 | up 14.0% | rising |
| 82 | Sierra Leone | 54.6% | 2019 | up 17.0% | rising |
| 83 | Guinea | 54.4% | 2018 | up 47.9% | rising |
| 84 | Afghanistan | 52.1% | 2021 | up 14.6% | rising |
| 85 | Burkina Faso | 48.7% | 2023 | up 9.7% | rising |
| 86 | Niger | 47.9% | 2022 | up 22.6% | rising |
| 87 | Mali | 45.2% | 2024 | up 0.2% | rising |
| 88 | Chad | 44.5% | 2019 | up 13.1% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) 99.7%
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 99.7%
- Central Europe and the Baltics 99.5%
- Europe & Central Asia 99.1%
- North America 98.8%
- East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) 98.2%
- East Asia & Pacific (IDA & IBRD countries) 98.1%
- Late-demographic dividend 97.9%
- East Asia & Pacific 97.9%
- Upper middle income 97.5%
- Latin America & Caribbean 95.2%
- Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 95.2%
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 95.0%
- IBRD only 93.5%
- Middle income 91.2%
- World 90.9%
- Small states 89.7%
- IDA & IBRD total 89.5%
- Other small states 89.5%
- Low & middle income 89.4%
- Caribbean Small States 89.0%
- Early-demographic dividend 87.0%
- Arab World 85.4%
- South Asia 84.6%
- South Asia (IDA & IBRD) 84.6%
- Lower middle income 84.2%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 83.2%
- Africa Eastern and Southern 78.6%
- IDA blend 76.8%
- IDA only 76.7%
- IDA total 76.5%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 74.9%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 74.9%
- Pre-demographic dividend 74.9%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 74.9%
- Least developed countries 74.7%
- Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) 73.1%
- Low income 70.9%
- Africa Western and Central 69.4%
About this data
Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.