Literacy rates among adults in Mali
Mali: Literacy rates among adults was 35.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Mali, 1976–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Mali recorded 35.6% for literacy rates among adults in 2024. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Mali peaked at 35.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 9.4%, in 1976.
That places Mali 87th out of 89 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.4% | 9.4% | 9.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 19.0% | 19.0% | 19.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 25.1% | 24.0% | 26.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 32.6% | 30.6% | 35.5% | 4 |
| 2020s | 35.6% | 35.6% | 35.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Mali
- 84 Burkina Faso 41.6% compare
- 85 Guinea 39.6% compare
- 86 Afghanistan 37.3% compare
- 88 Niger 35.6% compare
- 89 Chad 30.6% compare
More education data for Mali
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 51.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 45.8% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 72.8% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 59,920 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 5.51 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 69.4% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Mali?
- Literacy rates among adults in Mali was 35.6% in 2024, 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 Mali?
- The highest recorded value was 35.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Mali?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.4% in 1976.
- How does Mali rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Mali ranks 87th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Mali?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mali 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.