Literacy rates among adults in Maldives
Maldives: Literacy rates among adults was 98.2% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Maldives, 1977–2019
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 Maldives is 98.2%, 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 rates among adults in Maldives peaked at 98.6% 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 82.3% | 82.3% | 82.3% | 1 |
| 1980s | 92.2% | 92.2% | 92.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 96.2% | 96.0% | 96.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 97.4% | 96.3% | 98.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 97.3% | 94.5% | 98.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
- 12 Mongolia 98.6% compare
- 13 Montenegro 98.5% compare
- 14 Philippines 98.5% compare
- 16 Samoa 98.0% compare
- 17 Palestine 97.9% compare
- 18 Saudi Arabia 97.9% compare
More education data for Maldives
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 76.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 19.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 99.7% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 4,691 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.56 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 104.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Maldives?
- Literacy rates among adults in Maldives was 98.2% in 2019, 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 Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 98.6% in 2014.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 82.3% in 1977.
- How does Maldives rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Maldives ranks 15th out of 89 countries with data for 2019.
- Is literacy rates among adults 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 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 — 10 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.