Statizoid

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%) by country

Percentage of the population between age 25 and age 64 who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of literates...

Countries reporting
81
Highest
100.0%
Uzbekistan
Lowest
18.7%
Chad
Median
94.3%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
2,220

What the numbers show

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%) is currently reported for 81 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 18.7% in Chad.

The median across all reporting countries is 94.3%, and the mean is 84.4%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 5.

Over the past decade 71 countries rose and 9 fell. The largest increase was in Bangladesh (up 70.9%), and the largest decrease in Chad (down 19.1%).

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Uzbekistan 100.0% 2018 down 0.0% flat
2 Azerbaijan 99.9% 2017 down 0.1% flat
3 Kazakhstan 99.8% 2018 down 0.1% flat
4 Barbados 99.7% 2014 unchanged flat
5 Moldova 99.7% 2014 down 0.0% flat
6 Tonga 99.4% 2018 up 0.5% flat
7 Montenegro 99.3% 2018 up 0.0% rising
8 Spain 99.3% 2018 up 0.4% flat
9 Argentina 99.2% 2018 up 0.2% rising
10 Singapore 99.1% 2018 up 1.0% rising
11 Albania 99.0% 2018 up 0.2% flat
12 Uruguay 98.9% 2018 up 0.4% flat
13 Greece 98.8% 2018 up 0.2% rising
14 Portugal 98.6% 2018 up 0.3% rising
15 China 98.4% 2018 up 1.4% rising
16 Jordan 98.4% 2018 up 5.6% rising
17 Philippines 98.2% 2015 up 7.4% rising
18 Maldives 98.2% 2016 down 0.4% rising
19 Brunei 98.1% 2018 up 0.9% rising
20 Bahrain 98.1% 2018 up 7.4% rising
21 Macao 98.0% 2016 up 2.6% rising
22 Venezuela 97.8% 2016 up 1.9% rising
23 Turkey 97.6% 2017 up 8.6% rising
24 Palestine 97.5% 2018 up 3.5% rising
25 Seychelles 97.4% 2018 up 1.8% rising
26 Chile 97.2% 2017 down 1.4% rising
27 Indonesia 96.8% 2018 up 3.2% rising
28 Malaysia 96.6% 2018 up 2.2% rising
29 Mexico 96.5% 2018 up 3.1% rising
30 Panama 96.3% 2018 up 1.5% rising
31 Kuwait 96.3% 2018 up 2.6% rising
32 Saudi Arabia 96.2% 2017 up 18.7% rising
33 Oman 96.0% 2018 up 14.1% rising
34 Malta 95.9% 2018 up 2.6% rising
35 Colombia 95.8% 2018 up 1.9% rising
36 Paraguay 95.3% 2018 up 2.0% rising
37 Vietnam 95.3% 2018 up 1.0% rising
38 Peru 95.0% 2018 up 5.0% rising
39 Suriname 94.8% 2018 down 1.1% flat
40 Brazil 94.4% 2018 up 4.3% rising
41 Ecuador 94.3% 2017 up 0.8% rising
42 Dominican Republic 94.2% 2016 up 7.2% rising
43 Qatar 93.5% 2017 up 4.8% rising
44 Bolivia 93.4% 2015 up 2.3% rising
45 Sao Tome and Principe 93.0% 2018 up 38.0% rising
46 Thailand 92.9% 2018 down 4.1% rising
47 Sri Lanka 92.5% 2018 up 2.0% rising
48 Namibia 91.7% 2018 up 22.1% rising
49 El Salvador 89.8% 2018 up 7.3% rising
50 Eswatini 87.9% 2018 up 7.4% rising
52 Iran 87.4% 2016 up 8.4% rising
53 Honduras 87.1% 2018 up 5.7% rising
54 Vanuatu 86.8% 2018 up 16.0% rising
55 Zambia 85.0% 2018 up 40.2% rising
56 Laos 83.4% 2015 up 18.7% rising
57 Algeria 82.9% 2018 up 14.0% rising
58 Tunisia 80.9% 2014 up 10.4% rising
59 Guatemala 78.6% 2014 up 20.7% rising
60 Cambodia 77.9% 2015 up 9.0% rising
61 Tanzania 77.5% 2015 up 11.6% rising
62 Cameroon 75.4% 2018 up 10.5% rising
63 Madagascar 72.6% 2018 up 12.8% rising
64 India 71.6% 2018 up 22.7% rising
65 Morocco 71.4% 2018 up 41.3% rising
66 Bangladesh 70.7% 2019 up 70.9% rising
67 Rwanda 70.4% 2018 up 13.2% rising
68 Uganda 69.9% 2018 up 5.4% rising
69 Egypt 67.5% 2017 up 12.5% rising
70 Burundi 60.8% 2017 up 48.3% rising
71 Nepal 60.7% 2018 up 16.4% rising
72 Malawi 59.1% 2015 up 1.4% rising
73 Togo 59.0% 2015 up 15.7% rising
74 Nigeria 57.4% 2018 up 20.8% rising
75 Mozambique 57.2% 2017 up 28.2% rising
76 Pakistan 52.3% 2017 up 12.5% rising
77 Senegal 44.0% 2017 up 13.2% rising
78 Cote d'Ivoire 42.5% 2018 up 9.2% rising
80 Benin 34.9% 2018 up 43.2% rising
81 Burkina Faso 33.0% 2018 up 31.7% rising
82 Mali 29.5% 2018 up 44.0% rising
83 Chad 18.7% 2016 down 19.1% rising

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

About this data

Indicator
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,220 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Percentage of the population between age 25 and age 64 who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of literates aged 25-64 years by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.