Statizoid

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

Percentage of the female 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...

Countries reporting
83
Highest
100.0%
Uzbekistan
Lowest
9.5%
Chad
Median
92.6%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
2,216

What the numbers show

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female (%) is currently reported for 83 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 9.5% in Chad.

The median across all reporting countries is 92.6%, and the mean is 80.5%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 10.

Over the past decade 73 countries rose and 9 fell. The largest increase was in Bangladesh (up 101.3%), and the largest decrease in Chad (down 20.2%).

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female: 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 99.7% 2018 down 0.1% flat
4 Barbados 99.7% 2014 unchanged flat
5 Moldova 99.7% 2014 down 0.1% flat
6 Tonga 99.5% 2018 up 0.4% flat
7 Argentina 99.4% 2018 up 0.2% rising
8 Spain 99.3% 2018 up 0.5% rising
9 Uruguay 99.2% 2018 up 0.4% flat
10 Montenegro 99.1% 2018 up 0.1% rising
11 Greece 99.0% 2018 up 0.6% rising
12 Singapore 98.9% 2018 up 1.4% rising
13 Albania 98.8% 2018 up 0.0% flat
14 Portugal 98.7% 2018 up 0.4% rising
15 Maldives 98.6% 2016 up 0.0% rising
16 Philippines 98.3% 2015 up 6.5% rising
17 Jordan 98.3% 2018 up 9.2% rising
18 Venezuela 98.1% 2016 up 2.2% rising
19 Seychelles 98.1% 2018 up 1.4% rising
20 Brunei 98.1% 2018 up 1.5% rising
21 Malta 97.9% 2018 up 2.3% rising
22 China 97.7% 2018 up 2.2% rising
23 Chile 97.4% 2017 down 1.3% rising
24 Macao 97.3% 2016 up 3.4% rising
25 Colombia 96.3% 2018 up 2.1% rising
26 Bahrain 96.2% 2018 up 6.9% rising
27 Palestine 96.0% 2018 up 5.9% rising
28 Malaysia 96.0% 2018 up 3.4% rising
29 Mexico 96.0% 2018 up 4.1% rising
30 Turkey 95.9% 2017 up 16.3% rising
31 Kuwait 95.8% 2018 up 4.4% rising
32 Panama 95.7% 2018 up 1.7% rising
33 Indonesia 95.7% 2018 up 4.7% rising
34 Qatar 95.2% 2017 up 7.1% rising
35 Brazil 95.1% 2018 up 4.2% rising
36 Paraguay 95.0% 2018 up 2.7% rising
37 Dominican Republic 94.7% 2016 up 7.6% rising
38 Vietnam 94.5% 2018 up 1.5% rising
39 Ecuador 94.0% 2017 up 1.3% rising
40 Saudi Arabia 93.8% 2017 up 30.7% rising
41 Suriname 93.3% 2018 down 2.8% flat
42 Peru 92.6% 2018 up 8.2% rising
43 Sri Lanka 92.4% 2018 up 3.0% rising
44 Oman 92.3% 2018 up 24.9% rising
45 Namibia 91.9% 2018 up 18.4% rising
46 Thailand 91.2% 2018 down 6.0% rising
47 Sao Tome and Principe 89.7% 2018 up 56.6% rising
48 Bolivia 89.6% 2015 up 3.7% rising
49 Eswatini 89.0% 2018 up 8.9% rising
50 El Salvador 88.1% 2018 up 8.8% rising
51 Honduras 87.5% 2018 up 6.6% rising
52 South Africa 87.5% 2017 down 0.3% rising
53 Vanuatu 86.1% 2018 up 19.5% rising
54 Iran 82.6% 2016 up 12.6% rising
55 Zambia 80.5% 2018 up 61.7% rising
56 Laos 77.7% 2015 up 30.1% rising
57 Algeria 76.4% 2018 up 21.4% rising
58 Tunisia 73.8% 2014 up 18.9% rising
59 Guatemala 72.5% 2014 up 24.6% rising
60 Cambodia 71.9% 2015 up 17.0% rising
61 Tanzania 71.6% 2015 up 19.8% rising
62 Madagascar 69.7% 2018 up 14.4% rising
63 Cameroon 69.5% 2018 up 16.1% rising
64 Bangladesh 67.8% 2019 up 101.3% rising
65 Rwanda 65.5% 2018 up 15.1% rising
66 India 61.7% 2018 up 38.8% rising
67 Uganda 61.4% 2018 up 15.3% rising
68 Morocco 61.0% 2018 up 68.8% rising
69 Egypt 60.5% 2017 up 23.7% rising
70 Burundi 52.0% 2017 up 47.3% rising
71 Nepal 51.3% 2018 up 33.4% volatile
72 Malawi 50.5% 2015 up 9.3% rising
73 Nigeria 47.0% 2018 up 27.7% rising
74 Togo 45.3% 2015 up 23.5% rising
75 Mozambique 44.2% 2017 up 54.4% rising
76 Pakistan 35.7% 2017 up 19.4% rising
77 Cote d'Ivoire 35.0% 2018 up 25.7% rising
78 Senegal 29.3% 2017 up 3.6% rising
79 Central African Republic 24.5% 2018 up 5.8% rising
80 Benin 22.4% 2018 up 55.7% rising
81 Burkina Faso 22.2% 2018 up 36.3% volatile
82 Mali 17.9% 2018 up 44.3% rising
83 Chad 9.5% 2016 down 20.2% 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, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,216 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Percentage of the female 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 female literates aged 25-64 years by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.