Literacy rate of young men vs. women in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Literacy rate of young men vs. women was 98.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate of young men vs. women in Sri Lanka, 1981–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 98.7% for literacy rate of young men vs. women in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate of young men vs. women in Sri Lanka peaked at 99.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 91.9%, in 1981.
That places Sri Lanka 36th out of 95 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Literacy rate of young men vs. women in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 91.9% | — |
| 2001 | 95.1% | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 97.0% | +2.1% |
| 2008 | 97.3% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 97.7% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 98.1% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 98.1% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 98.4% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 98.5% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 98.5% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 98.7% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 98.6% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 98.7% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 98.3% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 99.0% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 98.7% | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 91.9% | 91.9% | 91.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 96.5% | 95.1% | 97.3% | 3 |
| 2010s | 98.3% | 97.7% | 98.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 98.6% | 98.3% | 99.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate of young men vs. women in Sri Lanka?
- Literacy rate of young men vs. women in Sri Lanka was 98.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate of young men vs. women recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 99.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest literacy rate of young men vs. women recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 91.9% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for literacy rate of young men vs. women?
- Sri Lanka ranks 36th out of 95 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate of young men vs. women rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rate of young men vs. women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of men aged 15 to 24 years who can read and write.