Literacy in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Literacy was 79 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Literacy in Bangladesh, 1981–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2022, literacy in Bangladesh stood at 79. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is up 3.5% on the previous year and up 36.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy in Bangladesh peaked at 79 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 29.23, in 1981.
That places Bangladesh 59th out of 89 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Literacy in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 29.23 | — |
| 1991 | 35.32 | +20.8% |
| 2001 | 47.49 | +34.5% |
| 2011 | 58.77 | +23.8% |
| 2012 | 57.86 | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 61.02 | +5.5% |
| 2014 | 61.09 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 65.14 | +6.6% |
| 2016 | 72.76 | +11.7% |
| 2017 | 72.89 | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 73.91 | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 74.68 | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 74.91 | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 76.36 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 79 | +3.5% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 79 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 78.16, 1.0× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 79 is above the median for South Asia, which is 79, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Literacy in Bangladesh changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +34.5% | 35.32 | 47.49 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 29.23 | 29.23 | 29.23 | 1 |
| 1990s | 35.32 | 35.32 | 35.32 | 1 |
| 2000s | 47.49 | 47.49 | 47.49 | 1 |
| 2010s | 66.46 | 57.86 | 74.68 | 9 |
| 2020s | 76.76 | 74.91 | 79 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More education data for Bangladesh
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 97.61 (2018)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 94.14 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 571,690 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 387,056 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.73 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.77 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.07 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 16.69 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.67 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy in Bangladesh?
- Literacy in Bangladesh was 79 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 79 in 2022.
- What is the lowest literacy recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.23 in 1981.
- How does Bangladesh rank for literacy?
- Bangladesh ranks 59th out of 89 countries with data for 2022.
- Is literacy rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).