Literacy in Maldives
Maldives: Literacy was 98.21 in 2019. ▲ Rising
Latest (2019)
98.21
Change on year
up 3.9%
World rank
15th
of 89 countries
All-time high
98.61
in 2014
All-time low
82.3
in 1977
Years of data
10
1977–2019
Literacy in Maldives, 1977–2019
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy in Maldives is 98.21, measured in 2019.
That represents a change of up 3.9% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy in Maldives peaked at 98.61 in 2014 and was at its lowest, 82.3, in 1977.
Maldives ranks 15th of 89 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Literacy in Maldives, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 82.3 | — |
| 1985 | 92.23 | +12.1% |
| 1990 | 96.02 | +4.1% |
| 1995 | 96.33 | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 96.33 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 98.4 | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 98.61 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 97.73 | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 94.51 | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 98.21 | +3.9% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 98.21 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 95.55, 1.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 98.21 is above the median for South Asia, which is 79, 1.2× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 82.3 | 82.3 | 82.3 | 1 |
| 1980s | 92.23 | 92.23 | 92.23 | 1 |
| 1990s | 96.17 | 96.02 | 96.33 | 2 |
| 2000s | 97.37 | 96.33 | 98.4 | 2 |
| 2010s | 97.27 | 94.51 | 98.61 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
- 12 Mongolia 98.64 compare
- 13 Montenegro 98.53 compare
- 14 Philippines 98.47 compare
- 16 Samoa 97.99 compare
- 17 Palestine 97.94 compare
- 18 Saudi Arabia 97.93 compare
More education data for Maldives
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.19 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.05 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 3,474 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 8,838 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4,920 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 33,002 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 44,013 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.52 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy in Maldives?
- Literacy in Maldives was 98.21 in 2019, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 98.61 in 2014.
- What is the lowest literacy recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 82.3 in 1977.
- How does Maldives rank for literacy?
- Maldives ranks 15th out of 89 countries with data for 2019.
- Is literacy rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).