Literacy in Spain
Spain: Literacy was 99.7 in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
99.7
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
5th
of 89 countries
All-time high
99.7
in 2021
All-time low
92.81
in 1981
Years of data
18
1981–2021
Literacy in Spain, 1981–2021
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2021, literacy in Spain stood at 99.7. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy in Spain peaked at 99.7 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 92.81, in 1981.
Spain ranks 5th of 89 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Literacy in Spain, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 92.81 | — |
| 1991 | 96.49 | +4.0% |
| 2004 | 97.17 | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 97.75 | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 97.75 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 97.94 | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 97.63 | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 97.68 | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 97.75 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 97.78 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 97.89 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 98.08 | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 98.09 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 98.14 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 98.25 | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 98.44 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 98.59 | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 99.7 | +1.1% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 99.7 is above the median for high income countries, which is 97.73, 1.0× the median. (12 countries reporting)
- Spain's 99.7 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 99.69, 1.0× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 92.81 | 92.81 | 92.81 | 1 |
| 1990s | 96.49 | 96.49 | 96.49 | 1 |
| 2000s | 97.65 | 97.17 | 97.94 | 6 |
| 2010s | 98.05 | 97.75 | 98.44 | 8 |
| 2020s | 99.15 | 98.59 | 99.7 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More education data for Spain
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.71 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.76 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 344,203 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 37,817 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 570,954 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 538,977 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.71 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.83 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy in Spain?
- Literacy in Spain was 99.7 in 2021, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 99.7 in 2021.
- What is the lowest literacy recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 92.81 in 1981.
- How does Spain rank for literacy?
- Spain ranks 5th out of 89 countries with data for 2021.
- Is literacy rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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 — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).