Literacy rates among adults in Singapore
Singapore: Literacy rates among adults was 97.7% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Singapore, 1980–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, literacy rates among adults in Singapore stood at 97.7%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Singapore peaked at 97.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 82.9%, in 1980.
Singapore ranks 21st of 89 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 82.9% | 82.9% | 82.9% | 1 |
| 1990s | 89.1% | 89.1% | 89.1% | 1 |
| 2000s | 92.5% | 92.5% | 92.5% | 1 |
| 2010s | 96.8% | 95.9% | 97.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 97.4% | 97.1% | 97.7% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Singapore
More education data for Singapore
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 74.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 11.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 100.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 16,639 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 0.952 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 100.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Singapore?
- Literacy rates among adults in Singapore was 97.7% in 2021, 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 Singapore?
- The highest recorded value was 97.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Singapore?
- The lowest recorded value was 82.9% in 1980.
- How does Singapore rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Singapore ranks 21st out of 89 countries with data for 2021.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Singapore?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Singapore 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.