Dominican Republic's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) was 93.6% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 2.23 percentage points from 91.37% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 93.6% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 93.58% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 91.37% | 2014 |
| Highest | 94.47% | 2023 |
| Lowest | 73.59% | 1981 |
| Average since 2015 | 93.54% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 73.59% | 1981 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Dominican Republic's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) fell 0.87 percentage points on 2023 (from 94.47% to 93.6%).
Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2023), the average change was +0.39 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.14 percentage points in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.87 percentage points in 2024. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.16 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 42% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Dominican Republic had the 13th highest value of the 20 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Dominican Republic | 93.6% | 2024 |
| World | 90.91% | 2024 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 95.23% | 2024 |
| Upper middle income | 97.48% | 2024 |
Closest to Dominican Republic in the 2024 ranking
- Colombia — 9th of 20: 94.97%
- Ecuador — 10th of 20: 94.49%
- Brazil — 11th of 20: 94.45%
- Sri Lanka — 13th of 20: 93.53%
- El Salvador — 14th of 20: 91.62%
- South Africa — 15th of 20: 91.5%
What this measures
Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.
Limitations: In practice, literacy is difficult to measure. Estimating literacy rates requires census or survey measurements under controlled conditions. Many countries report the number of literate people from self-reported data. Some use educational attainment data as a proxy but apply different lengths of school attendance or levels of completion. And there is a trend among recent national and international surveys toward using a direct reading test of literacy skills. Because definitions and methods of data collection differ across countries, data should be used cautiously.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 18 values
| Year | Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 93.6 |
| 2023 | 94.47 |
| 2022 | 93.73 |
| 2021 | 93.94 |
| 2020 | 93.78 |
| 2019 | 93.58 |
| 2018 | 93.41 |
| 2017 | 93.41 |
| 2016 | 93.79 |
| 2015 | 91.65 |
| 2014 |
Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) in nearby economies
More education data for Dominican Republic
- Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils — 1.17 million (2024)
- School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 101.94% (2024)
- School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 33.36% (2021)
- Secondary education, pupils — 863,765 (2024)
- School enrollment, secondary (% gross) — 76.36% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, private (% of total primary)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Dominican Republic's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above)?
- 93.6% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1981?
- It is up 20.01 percentage points from 73.59% in 1981. The highest value was 94.47% in 2023 and the lowest 73.59% in 1981.
- How does Dominican Republic rank?
- 13th highest of 20 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) unusual for Dominican Republic?
- In 2024, Dominican Republic's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) fell 0.87 percentage points on 2023 (from 94.47% to 93.6%). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2023), the average change was +0.39 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.ADT.LITR.MA.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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