Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Philippines
Philippines: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes was 98.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Philippines, 1980–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Philippines recorded 98.5% for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in 2020. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Philippines peaked at 98.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 81.5%, in 1980.
Philippines ranks 19th of 87 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Philippines, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 81.5% | — |
| 1990 | 93.6% | +14.9% |
| 1994 | 92.8% | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 92.7% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 91.5% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 95.2% | +4.0% |
| 2010 | 97.3% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 96.3% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 98.2% | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 96.1% | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 98.5% | +2.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 81.5% | 81.5% | 81.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 93.2% | 92.8% | 93.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 93.1% | 91.5% | 95.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 97.0% | 96.1% | 98.2% | 4 |
| 2020s | 98.5% | 98.5% | 98.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Philippines
More education data for Philippines
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 6.30 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.19 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), per capita 0.0544 units per person (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 6.76 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.5082 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), per capita 0.0584 units per person (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 11.87 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -5.79 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 527,504 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate -1.28 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Philippines?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in Philippines was 98.5% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in Philippines?
- The highest recorded value was 98.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in Philippines?
- The lowest recorded value was 81.5% in 1980.
- How does Philippines rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes?
- Philippines ranks 19th out of 87 countries with data for 2020.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes rising or falling in Philippines?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Philippines 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 — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release