Literacy rates among adults in Turkey
Turkey: Literacy rates among adults was 97.3% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Turkey, 1975–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Turkey recorded 97.3% for literacy rates among adults in 2021. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Turkey peaked at 97.3% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 61.6%, in 1975.
That places Turkey 23rd out of 89 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 61.6% | 61.6% | 61.6% | 1 |
| 1980s | 70.8% | 65.7% | 76.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 79.2% | 79.2% | 79.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 88.6% | 87.4% | 90.8% | 5 |
| 2010s | 95.2% | 92.7% | 96.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 97.3% | 97.3% | 97.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More education data for Turkey
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 68.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 21.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 10 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.4% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 299,967 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.62 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 101.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Turkey?
- Literacy rates among adults in Turkey was 97.3% 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 Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 97.3% in 2021.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.6% in 1975.
- How does Turkey rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Turkey ranks 23rd out of 89 countries with data for 2021.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Turkey 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.