Statizoid

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

Percentage of the male 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 male...

Countries reporting
83
Highest
100.0%
Uzbekistan
Lowest
28.4%
Chad
Median
94.7%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
2,219

What the numbers show

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male (%) is currently reported for 83 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 28.4% in Chad.

The median across all reporting countries is 94.7%, and the mean is 87.5%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 4.

Over the past decade 68 countries rose and 14 fell. The largest increase was in Burundi (up 51.9%), and the largest decrease in Chad (down 18.6%).

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

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Uzbekistan 100.0% 2018 down 0.0% flat
2 Azerbaijan 100.0% 2017 down 0.0% flat
3 Kazakhstan 99.8% 2018 up 0.0% flat
4 Barbados 99.7% 2014 unchanged flat
5 Moldova 99.7% 2014 down 0.0% flat
6 Montenegro 99.5% 2018 down 0.0% flat
7 Tonga 99.4% 2018 up 0.6% flat
8 Spain 99.3% 2018 up 0.4% flat
9 Turkey 99.3% 2017 up 2.1% rising
10 Singapore 99.3% 2018 up 0.7% rising
11 Albania 99.2% 2018 up 0.3% flat
12 China 99.1% 2018 up 0.7% rising
13 Bahrain 99.0% 2018 up 7.4% rising
14 Argentina 99.0% 2018 up 0.1% rising
15 Palestine 98.9% 2018 up 1.2% flat
16 Macao 98.8% 2016 up 1.7% rising
17 Greece 98.6% 2018 down 0.2% flat
18 Uruguay 98.6% 2018 up 0.5% flat
19 Jordan 98.5% 2018 up 2.2% rising
20 Portugal 98.5% 2018 up 0.2% rising
21 Brunei 98.2% 2018 up 0.4% rising
22 Philippines 98.1% 2015 up 8.2% rising
23 Indonesia 97.9% 2018 up 1.7% rising
24 Maldives 97.6% 2016 down 1.0% rising
25 Saudi Arabia 97.6% 2017 up 12.4% rising
26 Venezuela 97.4% 2016 up 1.6% rising
27 Oman 97.4% 2018 up 9.5% rising
28 Bolivia 97.4% 2015 up 0.6% rising
29 Peru 97.3% 2018 up 1.7% rising
30 Malaysia 97.2% 2018 up 1.0% rising
31 Chile 97.1% 2017 down 1.5% rising
32 Mexico 97.0% 2018 up 1.9% rising
33 Panama 97.0% 2018 up 1.4% rising
34 Seychelles 96.8% 2018 up 2.2% rising
35 Kuwait 96.5% 2018 up 1.9% rising
36 Sao Tome and Principe 96.3% 2018 up 20.8% rising
37 Suriname 96.2% 2018 up 0.6% flat
38 Vietnam 96.1% 2018 up 0.5% flat
39 Paraguay 95.7% 2018 up 1.3% rising
40 Colombia 95.3% 2018 up 1.8% rising
41 Ecuador 94.7% 2017 up 0.3% rising
42 Thailand 94.7% 2018 down 2.1% flat
43 Malta 93.9% 2018 up 3.0% rising
44 Dominican Republic 93.7% 2016 up 6.9% rising
45 Brazil 93.6% 2018 up 4.4% rising
46 Qatar 93.1% 2017 up 4.2% rising
47 Sri Lanka 92.7% 2018 up 0.8% flat
48 Iran 92.3% 2016 up 5.3% rising
49 El Salvador 91.8% 2018 up 5.4% rising
50 Namibia 91.5% 2018 up 26.5% rising
51 Zambia 89.8% 2018 up 24.1% rising
52 Algeria 89.4% 2018 up 8.5% rising
53 Laos 89.2% 2015 up 9.9% rising
54 Tunisia 88.3% 2014 up 4.0% rising
55 South Africa 87.9% 2017 down 2.7% rising
56 Vanuatu 87.6% 2018 up 12.5% rising
57 Eswatini 86.7% 2018 up 5.7% rising
58 Honduras 86.7% 2018 up 4.6% rising
59 Guatemala 85.6% 2014 up 17.7% rising
60 Cambodia 84.7% 2015 up 1.0% flat
61 Tanzania 83.9% 2015 up 5.0% rising
62 Morocco 82.5% 2018 up 24.7% rising
63 Cameroon 81.3% 2018 up 5.6% rising
64 India 80.7% 2018 up 11.0% rising
65 Uganda 79.2% 2018 down 1.4% rising
66 Rwanda 76.0% 2018 up 10.2% rising
67 Madagascar 75.4% 2018 up 11.1% flat
68 Togo 74.7% 2015 up 11.5% rising
69 Nepal 74.4% 2018 up 10.1% rising
70 Egypt 74.1% 2017 up 4.8% rising
71 Bangladesh 73.7% 2019 up 50.2% rising
72 Mozambique 72.0% 2017 up 13.2% rising
73 Burundi 70.7% 2017 up 51.9% rising
74 Malawi 68.8% 2015 down 3.6% rising
75 Pakistan 68.4% 2017 up 9.1% rising
76 Nigeria 67.8% 2018 up 14.9% flat
77 Senegal 60.3% 2017 up 16.7% rising
78 Central African Republic 50.4% 2018 down 1.9% rising
79 Cote d'Ivoire 49.7% 2018 down 0.5% rising
80 Benin 47.7% 2018 up 30.2% rising
81 Burkina Faso 44.4% 2018 up 26.0% rising
82 Mali 42.7% 2018 up 43.9% rising
83 Chad 28.4% 2016 down 18.6% 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, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,219 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

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