Maldives: Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 0.4 percentage points from 98.61% in 2014. Since 1977 it is up 15.91 percentage points from 82.3% in 1977. The World Bank has no value for 33 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

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 10 values

Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 79% (2022)
• India — 78.16% (2024)
• Sri Lanka — 92.74% (2024)

More education data for Maldives

• 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 — 44,013 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 99.71% (2024)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 76.06% (2020)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 104.82% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 95.29% (2024)
• Secondary education, general pupils

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Questions people ask

What is Maldives's literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)?

98.21% in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is up 15.91 percentage points from 82.3% in 1977. The highest value was 98.61% in 2014 and the lowest 82.3% in 1977.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.ADT.LITR.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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