Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, both sexes (number) by country
Total number of youth between age 15 and age 24 who cannot both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life.
Countries reporting
86
Highest
20.54 million number
India
Lowest
4 number
Uzbekistan
Median
65,200 number
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
2,250
What the numbers show
Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, both sexes (number) is currently reported for 86 countries. The highest value is 20.54 million number in India; the lowest is 4 number in Uzbekistan.
The median across all reporting countries is 65,200 number, and the mean is 850,118 number.
Over the past decade 20 countries rose and 65 fell. The largest increase was in Azerbaijan (up 369.2%), and the largest decrease in Bahrain (down 92.9%).
Youth illiterate population, 15-24 years, both sexes: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 20.54 million number | 2018 | down 50.4% | falling |
| 2 | Pakistan | 10.53 million number | 2017 | down 9.1% | rising |
| 3 | Nigeria | 9.36 million number | 2018 | down 2.5% | rising |
| 4 | Ethiopia | 6.27 million number | 2017 | down 10.9% | falling |
| 5 | Côte d'Ivoire | 2.15 million number | 2018 | down 4.0% | rising |
| 6 | Chad | 2.02 million number | 2016 | up 87.9% | rising |
| 7 | Egypt | 1.98 million number | 2017 | down 19.6% | falling |
| 8 | Mali | 1.83 million number | 2018 | up 16.4% | rising |
| 9 | Mozambique | 1.66 million number | 2017 | up 17.4% | rising |
| 10 | Burkina Faso | 1.65 million number | 2018 | down 3.7% | rising |
| 11 | Bangladesh | 1.58 million number | 2019 | down 86.2% | volatile |
| 12 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 1.42 million number | 2015 | down 7.5% | rising |
| 13 | Madagascar | 1.02 million number | 2018 | down 27.8% | falling |
| 14 | Uganda | 939,689 number | 2018 | up 3.3% | flat |
| 15 | Malawi | 934,377 number | 2015 | up 11.7% | rising |
| 16 | Senegal | 922,531 number | 2017 | down 20.6% | rising |
| 17 | Benin | 890,035 number | 2018 | down 3.0% | rising |
| 18 | Cameroon | 745,178 number | 2018 | up 15.4% | rising |
| 19 | Central African Republic | 623,445 number | 2018 | up 13.0% | rising |
| 20 | Iraq | 487,040 number | 2017 | down 54.4% | falling |
| 21 | Nepal | 481,015 number | 2018 | down 40.9% | falling |
| 22 | South Africa | 464,102 number | 2017 | up 81.5% | volatile |
| 23 | China | 375,315 number | 2018 | down 54.1% | volatile |
| 24 | Rwanda | 326,906 number | 2018 | down 32.4% | falling |
| 25 | Zambia | 285,071 number | 2018 | down 68.6% | falling |
| 26 | Brazil | 269,941 number | 2018 | down 64.1% | volatile |
| 27 | Cambodia | 249,100 number | 2015 | down 51.5% | falling |
| 28 | Burundi | 247,640 number | 2017 | down 65.3% | falling |
| 29 | Iran | 228,939 number | 2016 | down 61.1% | volatile |
| 30 | Togo | 224,210 number | 2015 | down 19.2% | falling |
| 31 | Viet Nam | 223,705 number | 2018 | down 56.3% | falling |
| 32 | Guatemala | 190,279 number | 2014 | down 57.5% | falling |
| 33 | Philippines | 182,462 number | 2015 | down 77.5% | falling |
| 34 | Malaysia | 177,089 number | 2018 | up 96.3% | falling |
| 35 | Thailand | 176,350 number | 2018 | down 46.1% | falling |
| 36 | Algeria | 156,217 number | 2018 | down 67.0% | volatile |
| 37 | Mexico | 150,913 number | 2018 | down 54.8% | volatile |
| 38 | Morocco | 134,010 number | 2018 | down 90.2% | volatile |
| 39 | Indonesia | 132,963 number | 2018 | down 42.3% | volatile |
| 40 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 106,236 number | 2015 | down 46.3% | falling |
| 41 | Colombia | 100,407 number | 2018 | down 39.5% | falling |
| 42 | Honduras | 70,561 number | 2018 | down 28.8% | falling |
| 43 | Tunisia | 67,069 number | 2014 | down 43.0% | volatile |
| 44 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 63,331 number | 2016 | down 24.0% | falling |
| 45 | Peru | 51,730 number | 2018 | down 64.3% | volatile |
| 46 | Sri Lanka | 38,104 number | 2018 | down 43.0% | volatile |
| 47 | Argentina | 35,374 number | 2018 | up 24.7% | volatile |
| 48 | Saudi Arabia | 33,779 number | 2017 | down 81.0% | volatile |
| 49 | Türkiye | 33,225 number | 2017 | down 92.6% | volatile |
| 50 | Chile | 27,512 number | 2017 | up 14.6% | volatile |
| 51 | El Salvador | 25,663 number | 2018 | down 46.2% | volatile |
| 52 | Namibia | 23,564 number | 2018 | down 58.6% | falling |
| 53 | Paraguay | 23,056 number | 2018 | down 11.5% | volatile |
| 54 | Ecuador | 22,850 number | 2017 | down 47.9% | volatile |
| 55 | Dominican Republic | 22,325 number | 2016 | down 70.8% | volatile |
| 56 | Qatar | 21,164 number | 2017 | up 123.1% | rising |
| 57 | Spain | 12,738 number | 2018 | down 42.2% | volatile |
| 58 | Jordan | 12,642 number | 2018 | down 4.3% | volatile |
| 59 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 12,547 number | 2015 | up 24.8% | volatile |
| 60 | Eswatini | 10,901 number | 2018 | down 27.9% | falling |
| 61 | Oman | 8,843 number | 2018 | down 41.4% | falling |
| 62 | Greece | 8,834 number | 2018 | up 51.4% | falling |
| 63 | Palestine, State of | 6,679 number | 2018 | down 3.5% | falling |
| 64 | Panama | 6,251 number | 2018 | down 58.0% | falling |
| 65 | Uruguay | 5,697 number | 2018 | up 9.0% | falling |
| 66 | Kuwait | 3,838 number | 2018 | down 35.5% | volatile |
| 67 | Portugal | 3,614 number | 2018 | down 44.1% | volatile |
| 68 | Albania | 3,076 number | 2018 | down 52.8% | flat |
| 69 | Kazakhstan | 2,371 number | 2018 | down 54.3% | volatile |
| 70 | Vanuatu | 1,974 number | 2018 | down 41.5% | falling |
| 71 | Suriname | 1,341 number | 2018 | up 147.9% | volatile |
| 72 | Maldives | 1,216 number | 2016 | up 104.4% | volatile |
| 73 | Republic of Moldova | 1,156 number | 2014 | down 70.4% | rising |
| 74 | Azerbaijan | 929 number | 2017 | up 369.2% | falling |
| 75 | Sao Tome and Principe | 898 number | 2018 | down 87.0% | volatile |
| 76 | Montenegro | 736 number | 2018 | up 5.1% | falling |
| 77 | Bahrain | 599 number | 2018 | down 92.9% | volatile |
| 78 | Singapore | 515 number | 2018 | down 72.3% | volatile |
| 79 | Malta | 340 number | 2018 | down 66.2% | volatile |
| 80 | Brunei Darussalam | 203 number | 2018 | down 56.1% | volatile |
| 81 | Macao | 152 number | 2016 | down 55.0% | volatile |
| 82 | Grenada | 149 number | 2014 | down 9.7% | falling |
| 83 | Seychelles | 122 number | 2018 | down 22.3% | falling |
| 84 | Tonga | 113 number | 2018 | up 1.8% | rising |
| 85 | Barbados | 34 number | 2014 | down 2.9% | volatile |
| 86 | Uzbekistan | 4 number | 2018 | — | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- World 99.40 million number
- IDA & IBRD total 98.23 million number
- Low & middle income 98.18 million number
- IDA total 69.33 million number
- Middle income 61.81 million number
- Lower middle income 55.92 million number
- Sub-Saharan Africa 52.06 million number
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 52.06 million number
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 52.06 million number
- Pre-demographic dividend 49.89 million number
- Early-demographic dividend 46.79 million number
- IDA only 46.65 million number
- Least developed countries 44.96 million number
- Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) 41.13 million number
- Low income 36.37 million number
- South Asia 34.01 million number
- South Asia (IDA & IBRD) 34.01 million number
- IBRD only 28.91 million number
- IDA blend 22.67 million number
- Arab World 12.53 million number
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 7.19 million number
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 7.11 million number
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 7.10 million number
- Upper middle income 5.90 million number
- East Asia & Pacific 4.06 million number
- East Asia & Pacific (IDA & IBRD countries) 3.43 million number
- East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) 3.43 million number
- Late-demographic dividend 1.65 million number
- Latin America & Caribbean 1.52 million number
- Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 1.49 million number
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 1.45 million number
- Small states 576,676 number
- Other small states 523,084 number
- Europe & Central Asia 328,493 number
- Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) 133,350 number
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 113,517 number
- Central Europe and the Baltics 56,148 number
- Caribbean Small States 42,966 number
- Pacific island small states 13,483 number
About this data
Total number of youth between age 15 and age 24 who cannot both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life.