Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in India
India: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male was 84.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in India, 1981–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in India stood at 84.6%.
The figure is down 3.6% on the previous year and up 11.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in India peaked at 87.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 52.1%, in 1981.
That places India 58th out of 88 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 52.1% | — |
| 1991 | 58.2% | +11.8% |
| 2001 | 70.8% | +21.6% |
| 2006 | 72.7% | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 75.4% | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 76.5% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 76.1% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 79.7% | +4.6% |
| 2019 | 80.6% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 81.0% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 82.1% | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 81.5% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 87.7% | +7.6% |
| 2024 | 84.6% | -3.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 52.1% | 52.1% | 52.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 58.2% | 58.2% | 58.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 71.8% | 70.8% | 72.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 77.6% | 75.4% | 80.6% | 5 |
| 2020s | 83.4% | 81.0% | 87.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near India
- 55 Guatemala 87.9% compare
- 56 Nicaragua 86.2% compare
- 57 Lao People's Democratic Republic 85.6% compare
- 59 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 84.3% compare
- 60 Tanzania, United Republic of 83.8% compare
- 61 Egypt 83.7% compare
More education data for India
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 0.732 % change on previous year (2025)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 3.04 million (2025)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.15 million (2025)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 21.75 million (2025)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 1.58 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 22.14 million (2025)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) -0.0911 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in India?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in India was 84.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 87.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 52.1% in 1981.
- How does India rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male?
- India ranks 58th out of 88 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release