Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%) by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
87
Highest
100.0%
Tajikistan
Lowest
24.1%
Chad
Median
94.2%
Years covered
55
1970–2024
Data points
9,602
What the numbers show
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%) is currently reported for 87 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Tajikistan; the lowest is 24.1% in Chad.
The median across all reporting countries is 94.2%, and the mean is 82.3%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 4.
Over the past decade 62 countries rose and 22 fell. The largest increase was in Burundi (up 60.2%), and the largest decrease in Zambia (down 14.0%).
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tajikistan | 100.0% | 2009 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% | 2022 | unchanged | flat |
| 3 | Spain | 99.9% | 2021 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 4 | Azerbaijan | 99.8% | 2023 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 5 | Armenia | 99.8% | 2023 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 6 | Georgia | 99.8% | 2024 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 7 | Serbia | 99.5% | 2022 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 8 | Tonga | 99.4% | 2023 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 9 | Qatar | 99.3% | 2024 | up 3.1% | rising |
| 10 | Uruguay | 99.1% | 2024 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 11 | United Arab Emirates | 99.0% | 2024 | up 1.1% | rising |
| 12 | Singapore | 99.0% | 2020 | up 0.9% | rising |
| 13 | Palestine | 98.8% | 2024 | up 1.0% | rising |
| 14 | Samoa | 98.6% | 2019 | down 0.6% | flat |
| 15 | Oman | 98.6% | 2022 | up 14.9% | rising |
| 16 | Montenegro | 98.6% | 2018 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 17 | Maldives | 98.5% | 2019 | down 0.0% | rising |
| 18 | Albania | 98.5% | 2023 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 19 | Philippines | 98.5% | 2020 | up 1.2% | rising |
| 20 | Turkey | 98.5% | 2021 | up 2.7% | rising |
| 21 | Bolivia | 98.5% | 2024 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 22 | China | 98.4% | 2020 | up 1.4% | rising |
| 23 | Mongolia | 98.4% | 2024 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 24 | Bahrain | 98.3% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 25 | Chile | 98.1% | 2022 | up 0.7% | rising |
| 26 | Macao | 98.0% | 2016 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 27 | Venezuela | 97.8% | 2017 | up 2.0% | rising |
| 28 | Saudi Arabia | 97.7% | 2024 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 29 | Panama | 97.0% | 2024 | up 1.2% | rising |
| 30 | Indonesia | 97.0% | 2020 | up 4.0% | rising |
| 31 | Malaysia | 96.7% | 2022 | up 2.3% | rising |
| 32 | Kuwait | 96.7% | 2020 | up 2.3% | rising |
| 33 | Mexico | 96.6% | 2024 | up 1.0% | rising |
| 34 | Colombia | 96.5% | 2024 | up 1.7% | rising |
| 34 | Vietnam | 96.5% | 2022 | up 2.2% | rising |
| 36 | Paraguay | 96.4% | 2024 | up 1.1% | rising |
| 37 | Mauritius | 96.0% | 2023 | up 6.3% | rising |
| 38 | Brazil | 95.9% | 2024 | up 3.4% | rising |
| 39 | Jordan | 95.6% | 2024 | down 2.5% | rising |
| 40 | Peru | 95.1% | 2024 | up 0.9% | rising |
| 41 | Ecuador | 94.9% | 2024 | down 0.5% | rising |
| 42 | Dominican Republic | 94.7% | 2024 | up 3.3% | rising |
| 43 | Sri Lanka | 94.3% | 2024 | up 1.4% | rising |
| 44 | Myanmar | 94.2% | 2020 | up 4.3% | rising |
| 45 | Thailand | 93.1% | 2022 | down 2.2% | rising |
| 46 | South Africa | 92.6% | 2024 | down 2.4% | rising |
| 47 | Iran | 91.7% | 2023 | up 6.9% | rising |
| 48 | El Salvador | 91.2% | 2024 | up 3.9% | rising |
| 49 | Cape Verde | 91.2% | 2024 | up 3.5% | rising |
| 50 | Lesotho | 90.7% | 2024 | down 6.8% | rising |
| 51 | Honduras | 89.6% | 2024 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 52 | Tunisia | 89.5% | 2023 | up 9.8% | rising |
| 53 | Namibia | 88.8% | 2023 | down 0.6% | rising |
| 54 | Nicaragua | 87.0% | 2014 | up 14.5% | rising |
| 55 | Sao Tome and Principe | 86.0% | 2019 | down 5.3% | rising |
| 56 | Guatemala | 81.8% | 2024 | up 4.1% | rising |
| 57 | Tanzania | 77.3% | 2022 | down 0.5% | rising |
| 58 | Rwanda | 76.8% | 2022 | up 19.6% | rising |
| 59 | Egypt | 76.5% | 2022 | up 10.8% | rising |
| 60 | Bangladesh | 76.1% | 2022 | up 45.7% | rising |
| 61 | India | 76.0% | 2024 | up 16.8% | rising |
| 62 | Laos | 75.5% | 2023 | down 9.5% | rising |
| 63 | Uganda | 75.1% | 2024 | up 16.8% | rising |
| 64 | Cambodia | 71.7% | 2021 | down 2.2% | rising |
| 65 | Cameroon | 71.0% | 2018 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 66 | Zambia | 70.5% | 2024 | down 14.0% | rising |
| 67 | Malawi | 68.0% | 2020 | — | rising |
| 67 | Togo | 68.0% | 2022 | up 25.3% | rising |
| 69 | Nigeria | 67.6% | 2024 | up 23.1% | rising |
| 70 | Nepal | 66.2% | 2019 | up 41.0% | rising |
| 71 | Burundi | 65.7% | 2020 | up 60.2% | rising |
| 72 | Ghana | 64.8% | 2021 | down 5.3% | rising |
| 73 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 64.5% | 2023 | down 11.4% | flat |
| 74 | Morocco | 60.0% | 2014 | up 23.7% | rising |
| 75 | Mozambique | 58.9% | 2022 | up 32.1% | rising |
| 76 | Pakistan | 54.8% | 2021 | up 14.1% | rising |
| 77 | Cote d'Ivoire | 52.4% | 2022 | up 27.3% | rising |
| 78 | Ethiopia | 51.1% | 2022 | up 31.5% | rising |
| 79 | Senegal | 44.6% | 2023 | up 16.8% | rising |
| 80 | Benin | 43.7% | 2022 | down 3.7% | rising |
| 81 | Guinea | 34.7% | 2018 | up 43.1% | rising |
| 82 | Sierra Leone | 33.7% | 2019 | up 11.8% | rising |
| 83 | Mali | 32.1% | 2024 | up 19.9% | rising |
| 84 | Burkina Faso | 29.8% | 2023 | up 3.4% | rising |
| 85 | Niger | 28.6% | 2022 | up 7.7% | rising |
| 86 | Afghanistan | 27.3% | 2021 | up 17.9% | rising |
| 87 | Chad | 24.1% | 2019 | up 4.1% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- ECE: Cis (cwg) (unsdcode:98201) 99.9%
- ECE: Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (cis) (unsdcode:98202) 99.9%
- ESCAP: North and Central Asia (nca) (unsdcode:98417) 99.9%
- GPE: Europe & Central Asia Wb Fy24, December 2024 99.9%
- ECE: Eurasian Economic Union (eaeu) (unsdcode:98206) 99.9%
- AIMS: Central Asia 99.9%
- SDG: Central Asia 99.9%
- MDG: Caucasus and Central Asia 99.9%
- UIS: Central Asia 99.9%
- WB: Europe & Central Asia (ida & Ibrd) 99.6%
- UNICEF: Central and Eastern Europe/commonwealth of Independent States 99.6%
- UNICEF: Eastern Europe and Central Asia 99.6%
- WB: Central Europe and the Baltics 99.6%
- UIS: Central and Eastern Europe 99.6%
- WB: Europe & Central Asia (excluding High Income) 99.5%
- SDG: Europe and Northern America 99.5%
- UNICEF: Europe and Central Asia 99.5%
- UNICEF: Europe and Central Asia Programme Countries 99.5%
- WB: Europe & Central Asia 99.5%
- ECE: All Countries (unsdcode:98200) 99.4%
- ESCAP: North America (nam) (unsdcode:98425) 99.4%
- SDG: Northern America 99.4%
- UNICEF: North America 99.4%
- WB: North America 99.4%
- ECE: West Balkans (st7) (unsdcode:98205) 99.3%
- MDG: Eastern Asia (excluding China) 99.3%
- UNICEF: Western Balkans 99.2%
- SDG: Europe, Northern America, Australia and New Zealand 99.2%
- MDG: Eastern Asia 98.9%
- ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) 98.7%
- ESCAP: East and North-east Asia (enea) (unsdcode:98408) 98.6%
- SDG: Eastern Asia 98.6%
- ALECSO: Gulf Countries 98.5%
- ESCWA: Gulf Cooperation Council (gcc) (unsdcode:98502) 98.5%
- UNICEF: Gulf Area 98.5%
- AIMS: East Asia 98.1%
- SDG: Eastern and South-eastern Asia 98.1%
- UNICEF: East Asia and the Pacific Programme Countries 98.1%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific (excluding High Income) 98.1%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific (ida & Ibrd) 98.0%
About this data
February 2026 Data Release