Literacy rates among adults in Panama
Panama: Literacy rates among adults was 96.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Panama, 1980–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Panama recorded 96.2% for literacy rates among adults in 2024. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Panama peaked at 96.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 88.1%, in 1980.
Panama ranks 30th of 89 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 88.1% | 88.1% | 88.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 88.8% | 88.8% | 88.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 91.9% | 91.9% | 91.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 95.1% | 94.1% | 95.7% | 3 |
| 2020s | 96.2% | 96.1% | 96.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More education data for Panama
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 24.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 96.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 19,072 (2017)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.11 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 97.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Panama?
- Literacy rates among adults in Panama was 96.2% 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 Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 96.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 88.1% in 1980.
- How does Panama rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Panama ranks 30th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama 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.