Literacy rates among adults in Philippines
Philippines: Literacy rates among adults was 98.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Philippines, 1980–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Philippines recorded 98.5% for literacy rates among adults in 2020. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.3% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Philippines peaked at 98.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 83.3%, in 1980.
Philippines ranks 14th of 89 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 83.3% | 83.3% | 83.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 93.7% | 93.6% | 93.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 93.5% | 92.6% | 95.4% | 3 |
| 2010s | 97.0% | 96.3% | 98.2% | 4 |
| 2020s | 98.5% | 98.5% | 98.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Philippines
More education data for Philippines
- Duration of pre-primary education 1 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 5 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 27.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 94.0% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 527,504 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.89 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 92.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Philippines?
- Literacy rates among adults in Philippines was 98.5% in 2020, 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 Philippines?
- The highest recorded value was 98.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Philippines?
- The lowest recorded value was 83.3% in 1980.
- How does Philippines rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Philippines ranks 14th out of 89 countries with data for 2020.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Philippines?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Philippines 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.