Literacy rate, adult total (% of people 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
89
Highest
100.0%
Uzbekistan
Lowest
30.6%
Chad
Median
91.2%
Years covered
52
1973–2024
Data points
2,592
What the numbers show
Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) is currently reported for 89 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 30.6% in Chad.
The median across all reporting countries is 91.2%, and the mean is 83.2%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3.
Over the past decade 69 countries rose and 17 fell. The largest increase was in Guinea (up 56.5%), and the largest decrease in Zambia (down 13.7%).
Literacy rate, adult total: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% | 2022 | up 0.0% | flat |
| 2 | Armenia | 99.8% | 2023 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 99.8% | 2023 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 4 | Tajikistan | 99.7% | 2009 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 5 | Spain | 99.7% | 2021 | up 2.0% | rising |
| 6 | Georgia | 99.7% | 2024 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 7 | Tonga | 99.5% | 2023 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 8 | Serbia | 99.3% | 2022 | up 1.4% | flat |
| 9 | Uruguay | 98.9% | 2024 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 10 | United Arab Emirates | 98.8% | 2024 | up 1.1% | rising |
| 11 | Mongolia | 98.6% | 2024 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 12 | Montenegro | 98.5% | 2018 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 13 | Philippines | 98.5% | 2020 | up 1.4% | rising |
| 14 | Maldives | 98.2% | 2019 | down 0.2% | rising |
| 15 | Samoa | 98.0% | 2019 | down 1.0% | flat |
| 16 | Palestine, State of | 97.9% | 2024 | up 1.8% | rising |
| 17 | Saudi Arabia | 97.9% | 2024 | up 3.7% | rising |
| 18 | Bahrain | 97.8% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 19 | Qatar | 97.8% | 2014 | up 9.9% | rising |
| 20 | Albania | 97.7% | 2023 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 21 | Singapore | 97.7% | 2021 | up 1.5% | rising |
| 22 | Oman | 97.3% | 2022 | up 12.0% | rising |
| 23 | Türkiye | 97.3% | 2021 | up 3.3% | rising |
| 24 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 97.2% | 2017 | up 2.1% | rising |
| 25 | China | 96.7% | 2020 | up 1.7% | rising |
| 26 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 96.7% | 2024 | up 4.6% | rising |
| 27 | Macau, China | 96.5% | 2016 | up 3.3% | rising |
| 28 | Kuwait | 96.5% | 2020 | up 2.1% | rising |
| 29 | Chile | 96.4% | 2017 | down 0.3% | rising |
| 30 | Panama | 96.2% | 2024 | up 2.3% | rising |
| 31 | Viet Nam | 96.1% | 2022 | up 2.8% | rising |
| 32 | Indonesia | 96.0% | 2020 | up 4.0% | rising |
| 33 | Malaysia | 95.8% | 2022 | up 2.8% | rising |
| 34 | Mexico | 95.5% | 2024 | up 1.0% | rising |
| 35 | Colombia | 95.3% | 2024 | up 1.2% | rising |
| 36 | Paraguay | 94.9% | 2024 | down 0.2% | rising |
| 37 | Brazil | 94.7% | 2024 | up 3.3% | rising |
| 38 | Jordan | 94.4% | 2024 | down 3.5% | rising |
| 39 | Mauritius | 94.3% | 2023 | up 3.1% | rising |
| 40 | Dominican Republic | 94.0% | 2024 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 41 | Peru | 93.7% | 2024 | down 0.1% | rising |
| 42 | Myanmar | 93.5% | 2020 | up 3.5% | rising |
| 43 | Ecuador | 93.5% | 2024 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 44 | Sri Lanka | 92.7% | 2024 | up 0.2% | rising |
| 45 | South Africa | 91.2% | 2024 | down 3.2% | rising |
| 46 | Thailand | 91.1% | 2022 | down 2.8% | flat |
| 47 | Lesotho | 90.5% | 2024 | down 7.0% | rising |
| 48 | El Salvador | 89.8% | 2024 | up 2.7% | rising |
| 49 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 88.9% | 2023 | up 5.1% | rising |
| 50 | Cape Verde | 88.5% | 2024 | up 1.9% | rising |
| 51 | Honduras | 88.2% | 2024 | up 1.2% | rising |
| 52 | Vanuatu | 88.0% | 2023 | — | rising |
| 53 | Namibia | 87.6% | 2023 | down 0.7% | rising |
| 54 | Sao Tome and Principe | 87.4% | 2019 | down 3.0% | rising |
| 55 | Tunisia | 86.2% | 2023 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 56 | Iraq | 84.1% | 2021 | up 8.9% | rising |
| 57 | Guatemala | 82.1% | 2024 | up 1.0% | rising |
| 58 | Egypt | 79.5% | 2022 | up 7.6% | rising |
| 59 | Bangladesh | 79.0% | 2022 | up 36.5% | rising |
| 60 | Rwanda | 78.8% | 2022 | up 15.3% | rising |
| 61 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 78.2% | 2022 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 62 | India | 78.2% | 2024 | up 11.9% | rising |
| 63 | Uganda | 77.0% | 2024 | up 12.5% | rising |
| 64 | Ghana | 76.5% | 2021 | up 7.0% | rising |
| 65 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 75.6% | 2023 | down 10.7% | rising |
| 66 | Togo | 72.6% | 2022 | up 20.2% | rising |
| 67 | Cameroon | 72.5% | 2018 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 68 | Cambodia | 71.9% | 2021 | down 5.5% | rising |
| 69 | Zambia | 71.8% | 2024 | down 13.7% | rising |
| 70 | Burundi | 71.3% | 2020 | up 48.4% | rising |
| 71 | Nigeria | 70.4% | 2024 | up 20.9% | rising |
| 72 | Malawi | 70.2% | 2020 | — | rising |
| 73 | Timor-Leste | 69.4% | 2022 | up 19.0% | rising |
| 74 | Nepal | 68.7% | 2019 | up 23.7% | rising |
| 75 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 68.5% | 2023 | down 8.7% | flat |
| 76 | Morocco | 64.3% | 2014 | up 22.8% | rising |
| 77 | Mozambique | 61.7% | 2022 | up 21.9% | rising |
| 78 | Ethiopia | 60.5% | 2022 | up 25.0% | rising |
| 79 | Pakistan | 58.9% | 2021 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 80 | Benin | 51.4% | 2022 | up 15.0% | rising |
| 81 | Senegal | 50.4% | 2023 | up 15.7% | rising |
| 82 | Côte d'Ivoire | 50.0% | 2021 | up 13.9% | rising |
| 83 | Sierra Leone | 43.6% | 2019 | up 25.1% | rising |
| 84 | Burkina Faso | 41.6% | 2023 | up 20.1% | rising |
| 85 | Guinea | 39.6% | 2018 | up 56.5% | rising |
| 86 | Afghanistan | 37.3% | 2021 | up 18.5% | rising |
| 87 | Mali | 35.6% | 2024 | up 7.7% | rising |
| 88 | Niger | 35.6% | 2022 | up 16.5% | rising |
| 89 | Chad | 30.6% | 2019 | up 7.9% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Central Europe and the Baltics 99.5%
- Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) 99.4%
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 99.0%
- North America 98.8%
- Europe & Central Asia 98.8%
- East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) 96.8%
- Late-demographic dividend 96.8%
- East Asia & Pacific (IDA & IBRD countries) 96.8%
- East Asia & Pacific 96.6%
- Upper middle income 96.2%
- Latin America & Caribbean 95.0%
- Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 94.9%
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 94.7%
- Caribbean Small States 91.0%
- IBRD only 90.7%
- Small states 88.0%
- Middle income 87.8%
- World 87.7%
- Other small states 87.1%
- IDA & IBRD total 85.8%
- Low & middle income 85.7%
- Early-demographic dividend 82.1%
- Arab World 79.0%
- Lower middle income 78.3%
- South Asia 78.2%
- South Asia (IDA & IBRD) 78.2%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 75.6%
- Africa Eastern and Southern 73.7%
- IDA only 70.9%
- IDA total 70.0%
- IDA blend 69.2%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 68.7%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 68.7%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 68.7%
- Least developed countries 68.3%
- Pre-demographic dividend 67.7%
- Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) 66.6%
- Low income 63.6%
- Africa Western and Central 61.2%
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.