Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, both sexes (number) by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
58
Highest
12.47 million
Pakistan
Lowest
4
Uzbekistan
Median
69,647
Years covered
55
1970–2024
Data points
8,082
What the numbers show
Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, both sexes (number) is currently reported for 58 countries. The highest value is 12.47 million in Pakistan; the lowest is 4 in Uzbekistan.
The median across all reporting countries is 69,647, and the mean is 657,464.
Over the past decade 11 countries rose and 46 fell. The largest increase was in South Africa (up 144.5%), and the largest decrease in Türkiye (down 96.8%).
Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, both sexes: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pakistan | 12.47 million | 2019 | up 5.2% | rising |
| 2 | India | 7.34 million | 2023 | down 77.1% | volatile |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 2.14 million | 2022 | down 68.3% | volatile |
| 4 | Burkina Faso | 2.14 million | 2019 | up 19.0% | rising |
| 5 | Egypt | 2.13 million | 2017 | down 16.6% | falling |
| 6 | Mali | 1.89 million | 2018 | up 10.4% | rising |
| 7 | Mozambique | 1.82 million | 2020 | up 27.2% | rising |
| 8 | Uganda | 1.50 million | 2014 | up 62.3% | rising |
| 9 | Guinea | 1.13 million | 2018 | down 23.4% | rising |
| 10 | Senegal | 917,117 | 2017 | down 20.6% | rising |
| 11 | Morocco | 668,815 | 2014 | down 63.1% | falling |
| 12 | Iraq | 501,759 | 2017 | down 54.2% | falling |
| 13 | China | 397,478 | 2020 | down 50.7% | volatile |
| 14 | South Africa | 295,988 | 2024 | up 144.5% | volatile |
| 15 | Brazil | 267,795 | 2018 | down 43.7% | falling |
| 16 | Iran | 247,083 | 2016 | down 60.0% | volatile |
| 17 | Burundi | 231,032 | 2017 | down 67.2% | falling |
| 18 | Mexico | 201,335 | 2020 | down 38.9% | falling |
| 19 | Guatemala | 192,703 | 2018 | down 5.6% | falling |
| 20 | Togo | 188,633 | 2019 | down 21.8% | falling |
| 21 | Thailand | 176,559 | 2018 | down 50.6% | falling |
| 22 | Philippines | 167,627 | 2020 | down 60.0% | falling |
| 23 | Cambodia | 149,217 | 2019 | down 63.7% | falling |
| 24 | Viet Nam | 125,196 | 2022 | down 74.8% | volatile |
| 25 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 105,682 | 2015 | down 45.6% | falling |
| 26 | Indonesia | 97,827 | 2020 | down 84.2% | volatile |
| 27 | Colombia | 84,103 | 2020 | down 44.5% | falling |
| 28 | Honduras | 81,475 | 2019 | down 3.7% | falling |
| 29 | Malaysia | 71,651 | 2022 | down 21.3% | falling |
| 30 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 67,643 | 2016 | down 19.6% | falling |
| 31 | Tunisia | 53,524 | 2019 | down 19.0% | volatile |
| 32 | Sri Lanka | 39,534 | 2024 | down 11.1% | volatile |
| 33 | Dominican Republic | 32,959 | 2024 | down 22.7% | falling |
| 34 | Peru | 31,301 | 2020 | down 55.1% | volatile |
| 35 | Jordan | 28,584 | 2024 | up 133.1% | rising |
| 36 | Chile | 27,123 | 2017 | up 57.6% | falling |
| 37 | El Salvador | 20,850 | 2024 | down 42.5% | volatile |
| 38 | Paraguay | 16,238 | 2020 | down 2.4% | volatile |
| 39 | Spain | 13,206 | 2021 | down 8.5% | falling |
| 40 | Ecuador | 12,083 | 2022 | down 64.6% | falling |
| 41 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 10,930 | 2023 | down 45.3% | volatile |
| 42 | Panama | 7,735 | 2019 | down 48.3% | falling |
| 43 | Palestine, State of | 6,437 | 2022 | down 1.8% | falling |
| 44 | Saudi Arabia | 5,670 | 2024 | down 87.1% | volatile |
| 45 | Türkiye | 5,220 | 2021 | down 96.8% | volatile |
| 46 | United Arab Emirates | 5,083 | 2024 | down 72.8% | volatile |
| 47 | Uruguay | 4,409 | 2022 | down 19.5% | falling |
| 48 | Kuwait | 3,257 | 2020 | down 34.9% | volatile |
| 49 | Oman | 2,185 | 2022 | down 83.3% | volatile |
| 50 | Serbia | 1,848 | 2022 | down 69.0% | volatile |
| 51 | Azerbaijan | 1,700 | 2023 | up 105.1% | rising |
| 52 | Georgia | 1,465 | 2024 | down 5.0% | rising |
| 53 | Maldives | 1,123 | 2016 | up 103.4% | volatile |
| 54 | Bahrain | 925 | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 55 | Qatar | 519 | 2024 | down 86.6% | volatile |
| 56 | Singapore | 473 | 2021 | down 14.5% | volatile |
| 57 | Armenia | 430 | 2020 | down 46.4% | falling |
| 58 | Uzbekistan | 4 | 2022 | up 33.3% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- SDG: World 86.13 million
- UIS: World 86.13 million
- MDG: World 86.13 million
- WB: World 86.13 million
- UNICEF: World 86.08 million
- MDG: Developing Regions 85.17 million
- UNICEF: All Unicef Countries 85.16 million
- WB: Ida & Ibrd Total 85.12 million
- WB: Low & Middle Income (july 2025) 85.02 million
- GPE: Overall Fy24, All 90 Countries, December 2024 75.45 million
- WB: Ida Total 72.58 million
- WB: Global Partnership for Education (july 2019) 72.55 million
- GPE: Fragile or Conflict-affected Countries (fcac) Fy24, December 2024 59.43 million
- ECA: African Union Commission (unsdcode:98106) 55.69 million
- ECA: All Countries (unsdcode:98100) 55.69 million
- ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) 55.69 million
- UNICEF: Africa 55.69 million
- MDG: Sub-saharan Africa 53.94 million
- UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa 53.94 million
- WB: Sub-saharan Africa 53.94 million
- WB: Sub-saharan Africa (ida & Ibrd) 53.94 million
- WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) 53.93 million
- ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) 53.71 million
- GPE: Sub-saharan Africa Wb Fy24, December 2024 53.54 million
- SDG: Sub-saharan Africa 51.18 million
- UIS: Sub-saharan Africa 50.95 million
- WB: Pre-demographic Dividend 49.00 million
- WB: Fragile and Conflict Affected Situations 47.89 million
- WB: Fy23 Ida & Ibrd Countries Classified As Fragile Situations 47.88 million
- WB: Middle Income (july 2025) 47.75 million
- WB: Fy23 Ida Countries Classified As Fragile Situations 47.19 million
- WB: Ida Only 46.77 million
- SDG: Least Developed Countries 45.84 million
- WB: Least Developed Countries: Un Classification 45.84 million
- WB: Lower Middle Income (july 2025) 45.05 million
- ESCAP: Wb Lower Middle Income Economies (wb_lower_mid) (unsdcode:98438) 43.95 million
- WB: Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (hipc) 41.73 million
- ESCAP: Wb Low Income Economies (wb_low) (unsdcode:98439) 38.64 million
- GPE: Lower Middle Income Wb Fy24, December 2024 38.02 million
- ECA: Least Developed Countries (unsdcode:98118) 37.52 million
About this data
February 2026 Data Release