Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024
GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes was 75.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024, 1978–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024 stood at 75.5%. That is the highest value across all 47 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024 peaked at 75.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 53.5%, in 1978.
GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024 ranks 127th of 203 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 53.5% | — |
| 1979 | 53.8% | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 54.1% | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 54.5% | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 54.9% | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 55.2% | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 55.6% | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 56.0% | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 56.3% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 56.7% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 57.3% | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 57.8% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 58.4% | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 58.9% | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 59.7% | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 60.4% | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 61.0% | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 61.6% | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 62.2% | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 62.9% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 63.9% | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 64.5% | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 64.7% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 65.3% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 65.8% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 66.7% | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 67.2% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 67.4% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 66.4% | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 66.7% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 67.3% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 67.7% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 68.6% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 69.3% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 69.3% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 69.9% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 70.7% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 72.0% | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 72.7% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 73.1% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 74.0% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 74.1% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 74.4% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 74.7% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 75.0% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 75.3% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 75.5% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 53.6% | 53.5% | 53.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 55.9% | 54.1% | 57.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 61.3% | 58.4% | 64.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 66.5% | 64.7% | 67.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 71.4% | 68.6% | 74.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 75.0% | 74.4% | 75.5% | 5 |
More education data for GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 97.82 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 62.10 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 2.08 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 104.89 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.96 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 10.46 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 202.72 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 2.02 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 4.07 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.4294 % change on previous year (2024)
All data for GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024 →
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024 was 75.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024?
- The highest recorded value was 75.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.5% in 1978.
- How does GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024 rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes?
- GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024 ranks 127th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes rising or falling in GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024 data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release