Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, rural, both sexes (%) by country
Number of people age 15 to 24 years in rural areas who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life, divided by the population in that age group. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. Divide the number of...
What the numbers show
Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, rural, both sexes (%) is currently reported for 38 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 38.4% in Burkina Faso.
The median across all reporting countries is 97.7%, and the mean is 90.4%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3.
Over the past decade 29 countries rose and 9 fell. The largest increase was in Burkina Faso (up 102.9%), and the largest decrease in South Africa (down 4.5%).
Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, rural, both sexes: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% | 2018 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 2 | Azerbaijan | 99.9% | 2017 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 3 | Republic of Moldova | 99.9% | 2014 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 4 | Spain | 99.5% | 2018 | up 0.0% | flat |
| 5 | Uruguay | 99.5% | 2018 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 6 | Indonesia | 99.4% | 2018 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 7 | Türkiye | 99.3% | 2015 | up 5.0% | rising |
| 8 | Palestine, State of | 98.9% | 2018 | down 0.2% | flat |
| 9 | Ecuador | 98.9% | 2017 | up 2.1% | rising |
| 10 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 98.7% | 2015 | down 0.6% | rising |
| 11 | Chile | 98.7% | 2017 | down 0.5% | flat |
| 12 | Mexico | 98.7% | 2018 | up 2.7% | rising |
| 13 | Sri Lanka | 98.6% | 2018 | up 0.7% | rising |
| 14 | Greece | 98.4% | 2011 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 15 | Brazil | 98.2% | 2018 | up 3.7% | rising |
| 16 | Kuwait | 98.1% | 2018 | up 0.8% | flat |
| 17 | Peru | 98.0% | 2018 | up 3.4% | rising |
| 18 | Dominican Republic | 97.7% | 2016 | up 6.3% | rising |
| 19 | Colombia | 97.7% | 2018 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 20 | Thailand | 97.7% | 2018 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 21 | Paraguay | 97.6% | 2018 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 22 | El Salvador | 97.1% | 2017 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 23 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 96.4% | 2016 | up 3.0% | rising |
| 24 | Malaysia | 96.1% | 2018 | down 1.5% | flat |
| 25 | Bangladesh | 94.4% | 2019 | up 26.6% | rising |
| 26 | Honduras | 94.2% | 2018 | up 4.0% | flat |
| 27 | South Africa | 93.3% | 2017 | down 4.5% | rising |
| 28 | Tunisia | 92.3% | 2014 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 29 | Guatemala | 92.1% | 2014 | up 24.8% | rising |
| 30 | Cambodia | 90.6% | 2015 | up 10.7% | rising |
| 31 | Egypt | 85.1% | 2017 | up 6.4% | rising |
| 32 | Morocco | 84.1% | 2012 | up 61.7% | rising |
| 33 | Uganda | 81.3% | 2012 | up 3.4% | rising |
| 34 | Pakistan | 66.1% | 2017 | up 15.8% | rising |
| 35 | Mozambique | 60.5% | 2017 | up 6.8% | rising |
| 36 | Senegal | 59.1% | 2017 | up 67.0% | rising |
| 37 | Mali | 39.3% | 2018 | up 59.0% | rising |
| 38 | Burkina Faso | 38.4% | 2014 | up 102.9% | rising |
About this data
Number of people age 15 to 24 years in rural areas who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life, divided by the population in that age group. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. Divide the number of people aged 15 to 24 years who are literate by the total population in the same age group and multiply the result by 100. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/