Literacy rates among adults in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Literacy rates among adults was 79.0% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Bangladesh, 1981–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, literacy rates among adults in Bangladesh stood at 79.0%. 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 rates among adults in Bangladesh peaked at 79.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 29.2%, 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 29.2% | 29.2% | 29.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 35.3% | 35.3% | 35.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 47.5% | 47.5% | 47.5% | 1 |
| 2010s | 66.5% | 57.9% | 74.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 76.8% | 74.9% | 79.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More education data for Bangladesh
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 27.6% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 106.5% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 383,624 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.14 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 113.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Bangladesh?
- Literacy rates among adults in Bangladesh was 79.0% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rates among adults recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 79.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.2% in 1981.
- How does Bangladesh rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Bangladesh ranks 59th out of 89 countries with data for 2022.
- Is literacy rates among adults 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 UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rates among adults. 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).
About this data
Share of the population aged 15 years and older who can read and write.