Literacy rates among adults in Guinea
Guinea: Literacy rates among adults was 39.6% in 2018. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Guinea, 1996–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy rates among adults in Guinea is 39.6%, measured in 2018. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is up 56.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Guinea peaked at 39.6% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 20.6%, in 1996.
That places Guinea 85th out of 89 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.6% | 20.6% | 20.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 29.7% | 29.7% | 29.7% | 1 |
| 2010s | 32.3% | 25.3% | 39.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Guinea
- 82 Cote d'Ivoire 50.0% compare
- 83 Sierra Leone 43.6% compare
- 84 Burkina Faso 41.6% compare
- 86 Afghanistan 37.3% compare
- 87 Mali 35.6% compare
- 88 Niger 35.6% compare
More education data for Guinea
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 100.5% (2020)
- Primary education, teachers 43,914 (2020)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 4.13 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 92.8% (2020)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Guinea?
- Literacy rates among adults in Guinea was 39.6% in 2018, 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 Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 39.6% in 2018.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.6% in 1996.
- How does Guinea rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Guinea ranks 85th out of 89 countries with data for 2018.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 56.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Guinea 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.