Statizoid

Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) by country

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.

Countries reporting
95
Highest
100.0%
Uzbekistan
Lowest
45.1%
Chad
Median
98.2%
Years covered
51
1974–2024
Data points
2,762

What the numbers show

Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) is currently reported for 95 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 45.1% in Chad.

The median across all reporting countries is 98.2%, and the mean is 91.3%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.

Over the past decade 66 countries rose and 24 fell. The largest increase was in Guinea (up 71.7%), and the largest decrease in Zambia (down 12.5%).

Literacy rate, youth total: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Uzbekistan 100.0% 2022 unchanged flat
2 Armenia 99.9% 2023 up 0.0% flat
2 Saudi Arabia 99.9% 2024 up 0.7% rising
2 Singapore 99.9% 2021 unchanged flat
5 Azerbaijan 99.9% 2023 down 0.1% flat
6 Belarus 99.9% 2019 up 0.1% flat
7 Republic of Moldova 99.8% 2014 down 0.1% flat
8 Mauritius 99.8% 2023 up 1.7% rising
9 Macau, China 99.8% 2016 up 0.2% rising
10 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 99.8% 2024 up 0.4% rising
11 Philippines 99.8% 2022 up 1.7% rising
12 China 99.8% 2020 up 0.1% rising
13 Serbia 99.7% 2022 up 0.4% flat
14 Spain 99.7% 2021 up 0.0% flat
15 Tonga 99.7% 2023 up 0.3% flat
16 Georgia 99.7% 2024 down 0.0% flat
16 Oman 99.7% 2022 up 2.0% rising
18 United Arab Emirates 99.6% 2024 up 1.3% rising
19 Bahrain 99.5% 2024 — rising
20 Peru 99.5% 2024 up 0.5% rising
21 Brazil 99.5% 2024 up 0.6% rising
22 Palestine, State of 99.4% 2024 up 0.0% flat
23 Mongolia 99.3% 2024 up 0.9% flat
24 Chile 99.3% 2022 down 0.1% flat
24 Kuwait 99.3% 2020 up 0.4% rising
26 Panama 99.2% 2024 up 1.2% flat
27 Albania 99.1% 2023 down 0.2% flat
28 Viet Nam 99.0% 2022 up 2.0% rising
29 Uruguay 99.0% 2024 up 0.2% flat
29 Samoa 99.0% 2019 down 0.2% flat
31 Ecuador 99.0% 2024 down 0.1% rising
32 Colombia 99.0% 2024 up 0.4% flat
33 Mexico 98.9% 2024 down 0.1% rising
34 Sri Lanka 98.9% 2024 up 0.4% rising
35 Tajikistan 98.8% 2017 up 0.3% flat
36 Malaysia 98.8% 2022 up 0.4% rising
37 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 98.7% 2017 up 0.4% rising
38 Maldives 98.7% 2019 down 0.6% rising
39 Iran, Islamic Republic of 98.7% 2023 up 1.0% rising
40 Qatar 98.7% 2014 up 2.9% rising
41 Jordan 98.7% 2024 down 0.4% rising
42 Eswatini 98.7% 2022 — rising
43 Paraguay 98.6% 2024 down 0.1% rising
44 Cape Verde 98.3% 2024 up 0.2% rising
45 El Salvador 98.2% 2024 up 0.4% rising
46 Dominican Republic 98.2% 2024 up 0.5% rising
47 Thailand 98.2% 2022 down 0.1% flat
48 Tunisia 98.2% 2023 up 1.3% rising
49 Suriname 97.7% 2018 down 1.7% flat
50 Montenegro 97.4% 2018 down 1.8% flat
51 India 97.3% 2024 up 8.2% rising
52 South Africa 97.2% 2024 down 1.7% rising
53 Cambodia 96.6% 2023 up 6.4% rising
54 Lesotho 96.5% 2024 up 4.9% rising
55 Myanmar 96.4% 2020 up 1.6% rising
56 Honduras 95.8% 2024 up 0.1% rising
57 Sao Tome and Principe 95.5% 2019 down 1.3% rising
58 Guatemala 95.4% 2024 up 1.1% rising
59 Nicaragua 95.3% 2014 up 9.5% rising
60 Egypt 95.2% 2022 up 6.6% rising
61 Nepal 94.2% 2019 up 14.6% rising
62 Indonesia 93.8% 2022 down 5.1% rising
63 Bangladesh 93.5% 2022 up 20.1% rising
64 Iraq 92.4% 2021 up 10.6% rising
65 Türkiye 92.2% 2022 down 6.9% rising
66 Namibia 92.1% 2023 down 2.2% rising
67 Ghana 91.5% 2021 up 6.8% rising
68 Comoros 90.8% 2021 up 10.7% rising
69 Lao People's Democratic Republic 90.4% 2023 down 2.2% rising
70 Togo 90.4% 2022 up 13.1% rising
71 Rwanda 90.0% 2022 up 9.3% rising
72 Morocco 89.1% 2014 up 26.5% rising
73 Burundi 88.4% 2020 up 18.7% rising
74 Tanzania, United Republic of 87.1% 2022 up 1.3% rising
75 Timor-Leste 86.1% 2022 up 8.3% flat
76 Uganda 85.2% 2024 up 6.0% rising
77 Ethiopia 84.7% 2022 up 54.5% rising
78 Cameroon 81.9% 2018 down 1.5% rising
79 Nigeria 81.4% 2024 up 2.8% rising
80 Malawi 80.7% 2020 — rising
81 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 77.9% 2023 down 9.4% rising
82 Zambia 77.7% 2024 down 12.5% rising
83 Pakistan 73.1% 2021 up 3.3% rising
84 Sierra Leone 73.0% 2019 up 24.9% rising
85 Mozambique 71.4% 2022 up 6.4% rising
86 Benin 71.2% 2022 up 14.6% rising
87 Gambia 67.5% 2021 down 7.1% rising
88 Senegal 67.5% 2023 up 18.5% rising
89 Côte d'Ivoire 66.8% 2021 up 26.1% rising
90 Burkina Faso 62.8% 2022 up 68.9% rising
91 Afghanistan 62.7% 2022 up 33.3% rising
92 Guinea 53.9% 2018 up 71.7% rising
93 Niger 53.9% 2022 up 35.5% rising
94 Mali 50.3% 2024 up 1.9% rising
95 Chad 45.1% 2019 up 8.3% rising

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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Literacy rate, youth total by country. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 07 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/literacy-rate-youth-total-percent-of-people-ages-15-24/

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About this data

Indicator
Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24)
Unit
% of people ages 15-24
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
135 places, 2,762 data points, 1974–2024
Last refreshed

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.