Literacy rate vs. average years of schooling in Kuwait
Kuwait: Literacy rate vs. average years of schooling was 96.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate vs. average years of schooling in Kuwait, 1950–2020
Source: UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, literacy rate vs. average years of schooling in Kuwait stood at 96.5%. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 2.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate vs. average years of schooling in Kuwait peaked at 96.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 17.5%, in 1950.
Kuwait ranks 44th of 128 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 17.5% | 17.5% | 17.5% | 1 |
| 1970s | 59.6% | 59.6% | 59.6% | 1 |
| 1980s | 71.0% | 67.5% | 74.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 78.4% | 78.4% | 78.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 93.5% | 93.3% | 93.9% | 4 |
| 2010s | 95.6% | 94.5% | 96.1% | 6 |
| 2020s | 96.5% | 96.5% | 96.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More education data for Kuwait
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 78.9% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.0% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 82.4% (2021)
- Primary education, teachers 32,782 (2021)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.51 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 88.7% (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate vs. average years of schooling in Kuwait?
- Literacy rate vs. average years of schooling in Kuwait was 96.5% in 2020, according to UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate vs. average years of schooling recorded in Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 96.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest literacy rate vs. average years of schooling recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.5% in 1950.
- How does Kuwait rank for literacy rate vs. average years of schooling?
- Kuwait ranks 44th out of 128 countries with data for 2020.
- Is literacy rate vs. average years of schooling rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kuwait data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rate vs. average years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of adults who can read and write a simple statement about their everyday life.