Literacy rates among adults in Uruguay
Uruguay: Literacy rates among adults was 98.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Uruguay, 1975–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Uruguay recorded 98.9% for literacy rates among adults in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Uruguay peaked at 99.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 93.9%, in 1975.
That places Uruguay 10th out of 89 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 93.9% | 93.9% | 93.9% | 1 |
| 1980s | 95.4% | 95.4% | 95.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 96.8% | 96.8% | 96.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 98.0% | 97.8% | 98.3% | 4 |
| 2010s | 98.5% | 98.1% | 98.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.9% | 98.8% | 99.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Uruguay
More education data for Uruguay
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.9% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 104.5% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 18,882 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.4 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 104.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Uruguay?
- Literacy rates among adults in Uruguay was 98.9% 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 Uruguay?
- The highest recorded value was 99.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Uruguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 93.9% in 1975.
- How does Uruguay rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Uruguay ranks 10th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Uruguay?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uruguay 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.