Literacy rates among adults in El Salvador
El Salvador: Literacy rates among adults was 89.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in El Salvador, 1992–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, literacy rates among adults in El Salvador stood at 89.8%.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in El Salvador peaked at 90.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 74.1%, in 1992.
El Salvador ranks 48th of 89 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 74.1% | 74.1% | 74.1% | 1 |
| 2000s | 83.4% | 82.0% | 84.1% | 4 |
| 2010s | 87.2% | 84.5% | 89.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 89.6% | 89.1% | 90.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More education data for El Salvador
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 24.4% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 89.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 22,132 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.77 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 90.2% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in El Salvador?
- Literacy rates among adults in El Salvador was 89.8% in 2024, 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 El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 90.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 74.1% in 1992.
- How does El Salvador rank for literacy rates among adults?
- El Salvador ranks 48th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this El Salvador 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.
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About this data
Share of the population aged 15 years and older who can read and write.