Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes was 23.23 million number in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
23.23 million number
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
4th
of 83 countries
All-time high
34.70 million number
in 2007
All-time low
19.58 million number
in 1981
Years of data
13
1981–2019

Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes in Bangladesh, 1981–2019

010.0M20.0M30.0M1981200020191981: 19.6M number1991: 24.7M number2001: 29.2M number2007: 34.7M number2011: 30.5M number2012: 31.9M number2013: 31.7M number2014: 32.1M number2015: 29.3M number2016: 23.6M number2017: 23.8M number2018: 23.4M number2019: 23.2M number

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

Bangladesh recorded 23.23 million number for illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes in 2019.

The figure is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 33.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes in Bangladesh peaked at 34.70 million number in 2007 and was at its lowest, 19.58 million number, in 1981.

Bangladesh ranks 4th of 83 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 19.58 million number 19.58 million number 19.58 million number 1
1990s 24.72 million number 24.72 million number 24.72 million number 1
2000s 31.92 million number 29.15 million number 34.70 million number 2
2010s 27.73 million number 23.23 million number 32.14 million number 9

Countries ranked near Bangladesh

  1. 1 India 186.67 million number compare
  2. 2 Pakistan 39.83 million number compare
  3. 3 Nigeria 28.54 million number compare
  4. 5 Egypt 13.77 million number compare
  5. 6 China 13.21 million number compare
  6. 7 Brazil 6.31 million number compare

See the full ranking of 122 places →

More reference data data for Bangladesh

All data for Bangladesh →

Frequently asked questions

What is illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes in Bangladesh?
Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes in Bangladesh was 23.23 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in Bangladesh?
The highest recorded value was 34.70 million number in 2007.
What is the lowest illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in Bangladesh?
The lowest recorded value was 19.58 million number in 1981.
How does Bangladesh rank for illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes?
Bangladesh ranks 4th out of 83 countries with data for 2019.
Is illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes rising or falling in Bangladesh?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes in Bangladesh. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/illiterate-population-25-64-years-both-sexes-number/bangladesh/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/illiterate-population-25-64-years-both-sexes-number/bangladesh/">Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes in Bangladesh</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Illiterate population, 25-64 years, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,239 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Total number of adults from age 25 to age 64 who cannot both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life.