Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, urban, male (%) by country
Percentage of the male population in urban areas 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...
What the numbers show
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, urban, male (%) is currently reported for 38 countries. The highest value is 99.9% in Azerbaijan; the lowest is 67.7% in Mali.
The median across all reporting countries is 97.0%, and the mean is 93.2%.
Over the past decade 29 countries rose and 9 fell. The largest increase was in Mali (up 33.5%), and the largest decrease in South Africa (down 5.2%).
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, urban, male: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azerbaijan | 99.9% | 2017 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 2 | Kuwait | 99.9% | 2018 | up 5.4% | flat |
| 3 | Republic of Moldova | 99.7% | 2014 | up 0.0% | flat |
| 4 | Spain | 99.4% | 2018 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 5 | Singapore | 99.3% | 2018 | up 0.7% | flat |
| 6 | Türkiye | 99.2% | 2015 | up 1.4% | rising |
| 7 | Indonesia | 99.1% | 2018 | up 0.8% | flat |
| 8 | Argentina | 99.0% | 2018 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 9 | State of Palestine | 98.9% | 2018 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 10 | Greece | 98.8% | 2011 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 11 | Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 98.7% | 2015 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 12 | Uruguay | 98.6% | 2018 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 13 | Peru | 98.5% | 2018 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 14 | Mexico | 98.4% | 2018 | up 1.2% | flat |
| 15 | Malaysia | 97.8% | 2018 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 16 | Ecuador | 97.8% | 2017 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 17 | Chile | 97.6% | 2017 | down 1.4% | flat |
| 18 | Colombia | 97.4% | 2018 | up 0.8% | flat |
| 19 | Paraguay | 97.4% | 2018 | down 0.2% | flat |
| 20 | Thailand | 96.5% | 2018 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 21 | El Salvador | 95.8% | 2018 | up 3.4% | rising |
| 22 | Brazil | 95.8% | 2018 | up 3.0% | rising |
| 23 | Dominican Republic | 95.2% | 2016 | up 3.7% | flat |
| 24 | Cambodia | 95.1% | 2015 | up 3.5% | flat |
| 25 | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 94.8% | 2016 | up 3.0% | rising |
| 26 | Sri Lanka | 94.1% | 2018 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 27 | Honduras | 94.1% | 2018 | up 1.2% | flat |
| 28 | Guatemala | 94.0% | 2014 | up 9.1% | rising |
| 29 | Qatar | 93.1% | 2017 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 30 | South Africa | 91.8% | 2017 | down 5.2% | rising |
| 31 | Uganda | 88.2% | 2012 | down 3.6% | flat |
| 32 | Morocco | 87.2% | 2012 | up 11.9% | rising |
| 33 | Bangladesh | 82.8% | 2019 | up 15.1% | rising |
| 34 | Egypt | 81.8% | 2017 | up 9.5% | rising |
| 35 | Pakistan | 80.4% | 2017 | up 3.6% | rising |
| 36 | Burkina Faso | 69.1% | 2014 | up 16.2% | rising |
| 37 | Senegal | 68.2% | 2017 | down 1.9% | flat |
| 38 | Mali | 67.7% | 2018 | up 33.5% | rising |
About this data
Percentage of the male population in urban areas 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. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/