Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in World

World: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male was 90.0% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
90.0%
Change on year
up 0.2%
Rank
16th
of 39 groups
All-time high
90.0%
in 2019
All-time low
72.6%
in 1976
Years of data
44
1976–2019

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in World, 1976–2019

0204060801001976199720191976: 72.6 %1977: 72.8 %1978: 73.4 %1979: 73.9 %1980: 74.4 %1981: 75.2 %1982: 76.2 %1983: 76.1 %1984: 76.7 %1985: 77.2 %1986: 77.8 %1987: 78.3 %1988: 79.7 %1989: 80.1 %1990: 80.6 %1991: 80.9 %1992: 81.4 %1993: 81.9 %1994: 82.4 %1995: 82.8 %1996: 83.2 %1997: 84.5 %1998: 85.8 %1999: 86.1 %2000: 86.5 %2001: 86.6 %2002: 86.9 %2003: 87.3 %2004: 87.7 %2005: 87.6 %2006: 87.7 %2007: 87.7 %2008: 88.1 %2009: 88.3 %2010: 88.3 %2011: 88.4 %2012: 88.7 %2013: 88.9 %2014: 89.1 %2015: 89.5 %2016: 89.7 %2017: 89.7 %2018: 89.9 %2019: 90 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in World stood at 90.0%. That is the highest value across all 44 years on record.

The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in World peaked at 90.0% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 72.6%, in 1976.

World ranks 16th of 39 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 73.2% 72.6% 73.9% 4
1980s 77.2% 74.4% 80.1% 10
1990s 83.0% 80.6% 86.1% 10
2000s 87.4% 86.5% 88.3% 10
2010s 89.2% 88.3% 90.0% 10

Countries ranked near World

  1. 13 Bahrain 99.0% compare
  2. 14 Argentina 99.0% compare
  3. 15 Palestine 98.9% compare
  4. 16 Macao 98.8% compare
  5. 17 Greece 98.6% compare
  6. 18 Uruguay 98.6% compare
  7. 19 Jordan 98.5% compare

See the full ranking of 122 places →

More reference data data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in World?
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in World was 90.0% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in World?
The highest recorded value was 90.0% in 2019.
What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 72.6% in 1976.
How does World rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male?
World ranks 16th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this World data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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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.