Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, urban, both sexes (%) by country
Number of people age 15 to 24 years in urban 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, urban, both sexes (%) is currently reported for 41 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 75.4% in Mali.
The median across all reporting countries is 98.9%, and the mean is 96.2%.
Over the past decade 28 countries rose and 13 fell. The largest increase was in Mali (up 20.9%), and the largest decrease in South Africa (down 2.2%).
Youth literacy rate, population 15-24 years, urban, both sexes: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% | 2018 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 2 | Kuwait | 100.0% | 2018 | up 1.4% | flat |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 99.9% | 2017 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 4 | Singapore | 99.9% | 2018 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 5 | Indonesia | 99.9% | 2018 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 6 | Spain | 99.8% | 2018 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 7 | Moldova | 99.7% | 2014 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 8 | Bolivia | 99.6% | 2015 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 9 | Turkey | 99.5% | 2015 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 10 | Sri Lanka | 99.5% | 2018 | up 1.6% | flat |
| 11 | Argentina | 99.5% | 2018 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 12 | Mexico | 99.5% | 2018 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 13 | Palestine | 99.4% | 2018 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 14 | Ecuador | 99.4% | 2017 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 15 | Brazil | 99.4% | 2018 | up 0.9% | rising |
| 16 | Peru | 99.3% | 2018 | up 0.7% | flat |
| 17 | Colombia | 99.2% | 2018 | up 0.3% | flat |
| 18 | Dominican Republic | 99.1% | 2016 | up 1.7% | flat |
| 19 | Chile | 99.0% | 2017 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 20 | Greece | 98.9% | 2011 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 21 | Uruguay | 98.9% | 2018 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 22 | Iran | 98.7% | 2016 | up 0.6% | rising |
| 23 | Thailand | 98.7% | 2018 | up 2.4% | flat |
| 24 | Paraguay | 98.7% | 2018 | down 0.2% | flat |
| 25 | El Salvador | 98.5% | 2018 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 26 | Honduras | 98.4% | 2018 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 27 | Tunisia | 98.2% | 2014 | down 0.3% | flat |
| 28 | Cambodia | 97.6% | 2015 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 29 | Malaysia | 97.1% | 2018 | down 1.8% | flat |
| 30 | Morocco | 97.0% | 2012 | up 12.2% | rising |
| 31 | Guatemala | 96.8% | 2014 | up 6.0% | rising |
| 32 | South Africa | 96.7% | 2017 | down 2.2% | flat |
| 33 | Bangladesh | 95.4% | 2019 | up 14.0% | rising |
| 34 | Qatar | 94.6% | 2017 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 35 | Egypt | 92.5% | 2017 | up 1.3% | rising |
| 36 | Uganda | 90.1% | 2012 | down 1.9% | flat |
| 37 | Mozambique | 88.2% | 2017 | up 5.4% | rising |
| 38 | Pakistan | 86.4% | 2017 | up 7.0% | rising |
| 39 | Senegal | 79.0% | 2017 | up 16.0% | rising |
| 40 | Burkina Faso | 77.7% | 2014 | up 9.1% | rising |
| 41 | Mali | 75.4% | 2018 | up 20.9% | rising |
About this data
Number of people age 15 to 24 years in urban 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/