Singapore's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) was 98.94% in 2021, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.55 percentage points from 98.39% in 2011.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 98.94% | 2021 |
| Five years earlier | 98.73% | 2016 |
| Ten years earlier | 98.39% | 2011 |
| Highest | 98.94% | 2021 |
| Lowest | 91.57% | 1980 |
| Average since 2012 | 98.69% | 2012–2021 |
| First recorded | 91.57% | 1980 |
What the numbers say
In 2021, Singapore's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) rose 0.4 percentage points on 2020 (from 98.54% to 98.94%).
Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2020), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.18 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations above 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 0.4 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.36 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.04 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 51% 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
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 98.94% | 2021 |
| World | 90.91% | 2024 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 97.91% | 2024 |
Closest to Singapore in the 2021 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 15 values
| Year | Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 98.94 |
| 2020 | 98.54 |
| 2019 | 98.9 |
| 2018 | 98.85 |
| 2017 | 98.8 |
| 2016 | 98.73 |
| 2015 | 98.56 |
| 2014 | 98.61 |
| 2013 | 98.54 |
| 2012 | 98.47 |
| 2011 |
Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) in nearby economies
- Cambodia — 90.29% (2023)
- Indonesia — 97.45% (2020)
- Philippines — 98.41% (2020)
- Thailand — 90.67% (2022)
More education data for Singapore
- 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) — 4 (2025)
- Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) — 2.19% (2024)
- Preprimary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils — 238,816 (2023)
- Primary education, teachers — 16,639 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils — 163,746 (2023)
- Primary education, teachers (% female) — 80.55% (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Singapore's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above)?
- 98.94% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1980?
- It is up 7.37 percentage points from 91.57% in 1980. The highest value was 98.94% in 2021 and the lowest 91.57% in 1980.
- Is the latest change in literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) unusual for Singapore?
- In 2021, Singapore's literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) rose 0.4 percentage points on 2020 (from 98.54% to 98.94%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2020), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.18 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations above 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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