Literacy rate, youth female in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Literacy rate, youth female was 99.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, youth female in Sri Lanka, 1981–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of females ages 15-24.
Analysis
In 2024, literacy rate, youth female in Sri Lanka stood at 99.0%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, youth female in Sri Lanka peaked at 99.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 90.2%, in 1981.
That places Sri Lanka 35th out of 105 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Literacy rate, youth female in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of females ages 15-24 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 90.2% | — |
| 2001 | 96.1% | +6.6% |
| 2006 | 97.9% | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 98.6% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 98.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 98.9% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 98.7% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 98.9% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 99.2% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 99.0% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 99.2% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 99.1% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 99.3% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 99.3% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 99.0% | -0.2% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 99.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 99.0%, 1.0× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 99.0% is above the median for South Asia, which is 96.9%, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 90.2% | 90.2% | 90.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 97.5% | 96.1% | 98.6% | 3 |
| 2010s | 98.9% | 98.6% | 99.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 99.2% | 99.0% | 99.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, youth female in Sri Lanka?
- Literacy rate, youth female in Sri Lanka was 99.0% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest literacy rate, youth female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 99.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, youth female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 90.2% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for literacy rate, youth female?
- Sri Lanka ranks 35th out of 105 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, youth female rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.