Literacy rates among adults in Kuwait
Kuwait: Literacy rates among adults was 96.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Kuwait, 1975–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Kuwait recorded 96.5% for literacy rates among adults in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 2.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Kuwait peaked at 96.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 59.6%, in 1975.
That places Kuwait 28th out of 89 countries with data for 2020, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 59.6% | 59.6% | 59.6% | 1 |
| 1980s | 71.0% | 67.5% | 74.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 78.4% | 78.4% | 78.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 93.5% | 93.3% | 93.9% | 4 |
| 2010s | 95.6% | 94.5% | 96.1% | 6 |
| 2020s | 96.5% | 96.5% | 96.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More education data for Kuwait
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 78.9% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 82.4% (2021)
- Primary education, teachers 32,782 (2021)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.51 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 88.7% (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Kuwait?
- Literacy rates among adults in Kuwait was 96.5% in 2020, 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 Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 96.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 59.6% in 1975.
- How does Kuwait rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Kuwait ranks 28th out of 89 countries with data for 2020.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kuwait 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.