Literacy rates among adults in Iran
Iran: Literacy rates among adults was 88.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Iran, 1976–2023
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 Iran is 88.9%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Iran peaked at 88.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 36.5%, in 1976.
Iran ranks 49th of 89 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 36.5% | 36.5% | 36.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 52.3% | 52.3% | 52.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 69.3% | 65.5% | 73.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 81.6% | 77.0% | 83.2% | 5 |
| 2010s | 85.1% | 83.5% | 87.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.5% | 87.9% | 88.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More education data for Iran
- Duration of pre-primary education 1 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 5 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 22.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.0% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 372,396 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.68 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Iran?
- Literacy rates among adults in Iran was 88.9% in 2023, 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 88.9% in 2023.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.5% in 1976.
- How does Iran rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Iran ranks 49th out of 89 countries with data for 2023.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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 — 23 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.