Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in SDG: World
SDG: World: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male was 90.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
90.8%
Change on year
up 0.1%
Rank
74th
of 203 groups
All-time high
90.8%
in 2024
All-time low
72.9%
in 1976
Years of data
49
1976–2024
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in SDG: World, 1976–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in SDG: World stood at 90.8%. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in SDG: World peaked at 90.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 72.9%, in 1976.
SDG: World ranks 74th of 203 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in SDG: World, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 72.9% | — |
| 1977 | 73.2% | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 73.7% | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 74.2% | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 74.8% | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 75.3% | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 75.8% | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 76.3% | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 76.9% | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 77.3% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 77.8% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 78.2% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 79.4% | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 79.9% | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 80.4% | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 80.8% | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 81.4% | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 81.9% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 82.4% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 82.9% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 83.3% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 84.5% | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 85.9% | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 86.2% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 86.5% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 86.7% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 87.0% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 87.5% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 87.8% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 87.8% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 87.6% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 87.8% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 88.1% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 88.3% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 88.5% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 88.8% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 88.9% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 89.1% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 89.4% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 89.8% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 90.0% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 90.1% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 90.3% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 90.1% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 90.2% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 90.4% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 90.6% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 90.7% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 90.8% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 73.5% | 72.9% | 74.2% | 4 |
| 1980s | 77.2% | 74.8% | 79.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 83.0% | 80.4% | 86.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 87.5% | 86.5% | 88.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 89.5% | 88.5% | 90.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 90.5% | 90.2% | 90.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: World
More education data for SDG: World
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.4213 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.5777 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 34.10 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 10.50 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 314.66 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.7454 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 337.02 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 139.06 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 268.57 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in SDG: World?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in SDG: World was 90.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in SDG: World?
- The highest recorded value was 90.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in SDG: World?
- The lowest recorded value was 72.9% in 1976.
- How does SDG: World rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male?
- SDG: World ranks 74th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male rising or falling in SDG: World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: World 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 — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release