Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Maldives
Maldives: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes was 98.5% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Maldives, 1977–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Maldives recorded 98.5% for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in 2019.
That represents a change of up 3.0% on the previous year and down 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Maldives peaked at 99.0% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 81.0%, in 1977.
Maldives ranks 17th of 87 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Maldives, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 81.0% | — |
| 1985 | 90.6% | +11.9% |
| 1990 | 95.1% | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 95.8% | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 95.8% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 98.6% | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 99.0% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 98.2% | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 95.7% | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 98.5% | +3.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 81.0% | 81.0% | 81.0% | 1 |
| 1980s | 90.6% | 90.6% | 90.6% | 1 |
| 1990s | 95.5% | 95.1% | 95.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 97.2% | 95.8% | 98.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 97.8% | 95.7% | 99.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More education data for Maldives
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 3,474 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 8,838 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4,920 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 33,002 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 44,013 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0834 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Maldives?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Maldives was 98.5% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 99.0% in 2014.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 81.0% in 1977.
- How does Maldives rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes?
- Maldives ranks 17th out of 87 countries with data for 2019.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release