Literacy in Panama
Panama: Literacy was 96.23 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
96.23
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
30th
of 89 countries
All-time high
96.23
in 2024
All-time low
88.07
in 1980
Years of data
9
1980–2024
Literacy in Panama, 1980–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Panama recorded 96.23 for literacy 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 in Panama peaked at 96.23 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 88.07, in 1980.
Panama ranks 30th of 89 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Literacy in Panama, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 88.07 | — |
| 1990 | 88.78 | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 91.9 | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 94.09 | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 95.41 | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 95.74 | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 96.21 | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 96.09 | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 96.23 | +0.1% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 96.23 is below the median for high income countries, which is 97.73, 98% of the median. (12 countries reporting)
- Panama's 96.23 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 94.86, 1.0× the median. (15 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 88.07 | 88.07 | 88.07 | 1 |
| 1990s | 88.78 | 88.78 | 88.78 | 1 |
| 2000s | 91.9 | 91.9 | 91.9 | 1 |
| 2010s | 95.08 | 94.09 | 95.74 | 3 |
| 2020s | 96.18 | 96.09 | 96.23 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More education data for Panama
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 92.75 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 92.3 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 23,777 (2017)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 10,042 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 47,857 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 46,052 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 311,983 (2017)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 451,308 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.02 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy in Panama?
- Literacy in Panama was 96.23 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 96.23 in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 88.07 in 1980.
- How does Panama rank for literacy?
- Panama ranks 30th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).