Literacy rates among adults in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Literacy rates among adults was 92.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Sri Lanka, 1981–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 92.7% for literacy rates among adults in 2024. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Sri Lanka peaked at 92.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 86.8%, in 1981.
That places Sri Lanka 44th out of 89 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 86.8% | 86.8% | 86.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 90.7% | 90.6% | 90.8% | 3 |
| 2010s | 92.1% | 91.2% | 92.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 92.5% | 92.4% | 92.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 21.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 10 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 91.5% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 73,333 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.95 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 92.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Sri Lanka?
- Literacy rates among adults in Sri Lanka was 92.7% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 92.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 86.8% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Sri Lanka ranks 44th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.