Statizoid

Literacy rates vs average years of schooling by country

Countries reporting
128
Highest
100
Uzbekistan
Lowest
30.63
Chad
Median
93.72
Years covered
549
1475–2023
Data points
1,242

What the numbers show

Literacy rates vs average years of schooling is currently reported for 128 countries. The highest value is 100 in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 30.63 in Chad.

The median across all reporting countries is 93.72, and the mean is 84.87.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3.

Over the past decade 89 countries rose and 19 fell. The largest increase was in Guinea (up 56.5%), and the largest decrease in Laos (down 10.7%).

Literacy rates vs average years of schooling: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Uzbekistan 100 2022 up 0.0% flat
2 Armenia 99.84 2023 up 0.1% flat
3 Azerbaijan 99.78 2023 down 0.0% flat
4 Tajikistan 99.73 2009 up 0.3% flat
5 Spain 99.7 2021 up 2.0% rising
6 Georgia 99.56 2023 down 0.0% flat
7 Tonga 99.48 2023 up 0.1% flat
8 Italy 99.35 2019 up 0.5% volatile
9 Serbia 99.34 2022 up 1.4% flat
10 Qatar 99.3 2023 up 1.9% rising
11 Romania 99.16 2021 up 0.6% rising
12 Argentina 99.14 2020 — rising
13 Hungary 98.86 1980 — rising
14 Uruguay 98.83 2023 up 0.5% rising
15 Poland 98.74 1978 — volatile
16 Mongolia 98.64 2023 up 0.4% rising
17 Montenegro 98.53 2018 up 0.1% rising
18 Germany 98.5 1950 — volatile
18 Finland 98.5 1950 — rising
18 United Kingdom 98.5 1950 — volatile
18 Ireland 98.5 1950 — volatile
18 Netherlands 98.5 1950 — volatile
18 Sweden 98.5 1950 — volatile
24 Philippines 98.47 2020 up 1.4% rising
25 Bulgaria 98.35 2011 up 0.2% rising
26 Maldives 98.21 2019 down 0.2% rising
27 United Arab Emirates 98.06 2023 — rising
28 Samoa 97.99 2019 down 1.0% rising
29 Bahrain 97.85 2023 — rising
30 Palestine 97.84 2022 up 2.3% rising
31 Albania 97.68 2023 up 0.4% rising
32 Cuba 97.65 2019 down 2.0% rising
32 Singapore 97.65 2021 up 1.5% rising
34 Saudi Arabia 97.59 2020 up 3.3% rising
35 Canada 97.5 1950 — rising
36 Oman 97.34 2022 up 12.0% rising
37 Turkey 97.26 2021 up 3.3% rising
38 Venezuela 97.18 2017 up 2.1% rising
39 China 96.74 2020 up 1.7% rising
40 Macao 96.54 2016 up 3.3% rising
41 Belgium 96.5 1950 — volatile
41 France 96.5 1950 up 0.5% rising
41 United States 96.5 1950 down 0.6% rising
44 Kuwait 96.46 2020 up 2.1% rising
45 Chile 96.4 2017 down 0.3% rising
46 Ecuador 96.26 2022 up 4.6% rising
47 Vietnam 96.13 2022 up 2.8% rising
48 Brunei 96.09 2011 up 3.7% rising
49 Panama 96.09 2023 up 2.1% rising
50 Indonesia 96 2020 up 4.0% rising
51 Mexico 95.83 2023 up 2.0% rising
52 Malaysia 95.77 2022 up 2.8% rising
53 Bolivia 95.55 2023 up 1.2% rising
54 Colombia 95.46 2023 up 1.3% rising
55 Jordan 94.85 2023 down 3.1% rising
56 Brazil 94.57 2023 up 3.4% rising
57 Paraguay 94.54 2020 up 0.7% rising
58 Peru 94.5 2020 up 0.7% rising
59 Portugal 94.48 2011 — rising
60 Syria 94.42 2021 — rising
61 Dominican Republic 94.31 2023 up 3.8% rising
62 Mauritius 94.29 2023 up 3.1% rising
63 Seychelles 93.95 2010 up 2.3% rising
64 Greece 93.91 2009 down 2.2% rising
65 Myanmar 93.53 2020 up 3.5% rising
66 Malta 93.31 2011 up 1.0% rising
67 Suriname 92.87 2012 up 3.6% rising
68 Sri Lanka 92.66 2023 up 0.1% rising
69 Lesotho 92.4 2019 up 39.8% rising
70 Puerto Rico 92.39 2017 up 0.5% rising
71 Lebanon 92.01 2019 up 0.9% rising
72 Thailand 91.1 2022 down 2.8% rising
73 Eswatini 90.75 2022 — rising
74 South Africa 90 2021 down 3.3% rising
75 El Salvador 89.85 2023 up 3.5% rising
76 Iran 88.92 2023 up 5.1% rising
77 Vanuatu 87.96 2023 — rising
78 Belize 87.88 2022 down 3.3% rising
79 Namibia 87.64 2023 down 0.7% rising
80 Sao Tome and Principe 87.44 2019 down 3.0% rising
81 Nicaragua 87.33 2014 up 12.0% rising
82 Honduras 87.09 2023 up 1.9% rising
83 Papua New Guinea 87 2022 up 26.2% rising
84 Cape Verde 86.79 2015 up 5.6% rising
85 Tunisia 86.25 2023 up 7.5% rising
86 Iraq 84.06 2021 up 8.9% rising
87 Guatemala 83.02 2023 up 7.8% rising
88 India 81.7 2023 up 17.0% volatile
89 Uganda 80.51 2023 up 14.7% rising
90 Zambia 79.98 2022 down 3.8% rising
91 Egypt 79.45 2022 up 7.6% volatile
92 Bangladesh 79 2022 up 36.5% rising
93 Rwanda 78.76 2022 up 15.3% rising
94 Tanzania 78.21 2022 up 0.1% rising
95 Ghana 76.49 2021 up 7.0% rising
96 Laos 75.64 2023 down 10.7% rising
97 Comoros 75.62 2021 up 2.7% rising
98 Algeria 75.14 2008 up 7.5% rising
99 Madagascar 74.69 2021 up 4.4% rising
100 Togo 72.6 2022 up 20.2% rising
101 Cameroon 72.55 2018 up 2.6% rising
102 Cambodia 71.93 2021 down 5.5% rising
103 Burundi 71.34 2020 up 48.4% rising
104 Malawi 70.15 2020 — rising
105 East Timor 69.4 2022 up 19.0% rising
106 Nepal 68.71 2019 up 23.7% rising
107 Democratic Republic of Congo 68.5 2023 down 8.7% rising
108 Angola 68.18 2023 up 3.3% rising
109 Haiti 68.01 2017 up 15.8% rising
110 Bhutan 64.91 2022 up 17.3% rising
111 Morocco 64.26 2014 up 22.8% rising
112 Guinea-Bissau 63.93 2022 — volatile
113 Nigeria 63.16 2021 down 10.0% rising
114 Mozambique 61.67 2022 up 21.9% rising
115 Ethiopia 60.46 2022 up 25.0% rising
116 Pakistan 58.86 2021 up 7.5% rising
117 Gambia 51.64 2021 up 1.7% rising
118 Benin 51.38 2022 up 15.0% rising
119 Senegal 50.36 2023 up 15.7% rising
120 Cote d'Ivoire 50 2021 up 13.9% rising
121 Sierra Leone 43.58 2019 up 25.1% rising
122 Central African Republic 42.44 2019 — volatile
123 Burkina Faso 41.57 2023 up 20.1% rising
124 Guinea 39.62 2018 up 56.5% rising
125 Afghanistan 37.27 2021 up 18.5% rising
126 Niger 35.61 2022 up 16.5% rising
127 Mali 35.47 2018 up 35.5% rising
128 Chad 30.63 2019 up 7.9% rising

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Literacy rates vs average years of schooling by country. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/literacy-rates-vs-average-years-of-schooling/

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About this data

Indicator
Literacy rates vs average years of schooling
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
128 places, 1,242 data points, 1475–2023
Last refreshed