El Salvador's literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) was 98.24% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.44 percentage points from 97.8% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 98.24% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 98.35% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 97.8% | 2014 |
| Highest | 98.52% | 2020 |
| Lowest | 84.95% | 1992 |
| Average since 2015 | 98.15% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 84.95% | 1992 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, El Salvador's literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) rose 0.19 percentage points on 2023 (from 98.05% to 98.24%).
Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.25 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.76 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.4 percentage points in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.39 percentage points in 2007. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 23% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, El Salvador had the 15th highest value of the 21 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | 98.24% | 2024 |
| World | 93.11% | 2024 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 98.68% | 2024 |
| Upper middle income | 99.29% | 2024 |
Closest to El Salvador in the 2024 ranking
- Sri Lanka — 11th of 21: 98.87%
- Jordan — 12th of 21: 98.67%
- Paraguay — 13th of 21: 98.62%
- Dominican Republic — 15th of 21: 98.21%
- India — 16th of 21: 97.34%
- South Africa — 17th of 21: 97.17%
What this measures
Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 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 26 values
| Year | Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 98.24 |
| 2023 | 98.05 |
| 2022 | 98.3 |
| 2021 | 98.1 |
| 2020 | 98.52 |
| 2019 | 98.35 |
| 2018 | 97.97 |
| 2017 | 97.98 |
| 2016 | 98.01 |
| 2015 | 97.95 |
| 2014 |
Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) in nearby economies
More education data for El Salvador
- Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 13 (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils — 594,860 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 89.88% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 90.18% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 89.6% (2024)
- School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) — 32.83% (2024)
- Primary education, pupils (% female)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is El Salvador's literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24)?
- 98.24% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1992?
- It is up 13.29 percentage points from 84.95% in 1992. The highest value was 98.52% in 2020 and the lowest 84.95% in 1992.
- How does El Salvador rank?
- 15th highest of 21 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) unusual for El Salvador?
- In 2024, El Salvador's literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) rose 0.19 percentage points on 2023 (from 98.05% to 98.24%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.25 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.76 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.ADT.1524.LT.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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