Literacy in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Literacy was 92.74 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
92.74
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
44th
of 89 countries
All-time high
92.74
in 2024
All-time low
86.78
in 1981
Years of data
16
1981–2024
Literacy in Sri Lanka, 1981–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 92.74 for literacy 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 in Sri Lanka peaked at 92.74 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 86.78, 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.
Literacy in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 86.78 | — |
| 2001 | 90.68 | +4.5% |
| 2006 | 90.81 | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 90.56 | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 91.18 | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 92.53 | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 92.55 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 92.39 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 91.9 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 91.71 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 92.25 | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 92.38 | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 92.43 | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 92.49 | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 92.66 | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 92.74 | +0.1% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 92.74 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 95.55, 97% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 92.74 is above the median for South Asia, which is 79, 1.2× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 86.78 | 86.78 | 86.78 | 1 |
| 2000s | 90.68 | 90.56 | 90.81 | 3 |
| 2010s | 92.07 | 91.18 | 92.55 | 7 |
| 2020s | 92.54 | 92.38 | 92.74 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 91.41 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 90.86 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy in Sri Lanka?
- Literacy in Sri Lanka was 92.74 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 92.74 in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 86.78 in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for literacy?
- Sri Lanka ranks 44th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).