North America: Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 0.03 percentage points from 98.8% in 2017. Since 2003 it is up 0.12 percentage points from 98.71% in 2003. The World Bank has no value for 8 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2022, North America's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) did not change 0 percentage points on 2021 (from 98.83% to 98.83%).

Across the 9 yearly changes before that (2004 to 2021), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.01 percentage points in 2005. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

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 12 values

Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) in nearby economies

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 85.29% (2022)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 92.75% (2023)
• Jordan — 96.6% (2024)
• Kuwait — 97.05% (2020)
• Pakistan — 69.14% (2021)
• Tunisia — 92.69% (2023)
• West Bank and Gaza — 99.44% (2024)

More education data for North America

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 26.2 million (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 28.14 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 1.89 million (2024)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 70.3% (2020)
• Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) — 51.24% (2024)
• School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.98 (2020)
• Secondary education, general pupils — 27.5 million (2018)
• Secondary education, vocational pupils

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is North America's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above)?

98.83% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2003?

It is up 0.12 percentage points from 98.71% in 2003. The highest value was 98.83% in 2021 and the lowest 98.71% in 2003.

Is the latest change in literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) unusual for North America?

In 2022, North America's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) did not change 0 percentage points on 2021 (from 98.83% to 98.83%). Across the 9 yearly changes before that (2004 to 2021), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

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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