Of the economies in the World Bank's latest release, Armenia has the highest literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) (99.9% in 2023) and Burkina Faso the lowest (35.73% in 2023). The world figure is 84.59% (2024).
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. Ant 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.
Each country's latest available year is shown; countries report on different schedules, so compare years before comparing values.
Ranking
| # | Economy | Latest value | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Armenia | 99.9% | 2023 |
| 2 | Azerbaijan | 99.73% | 2023 |
| 3 | Georgia | 99.62% | 2024 |
| 4 | Spain | 99.59% | 2021 |
| 5 | Uruguay | 99.17% | 2024 |
| 6 | Maldives | 98.26% | 2019 |
| 7 | Venezuela, RB | 97.24% | 2017 |
| 8 | Philippines | 97% | 2022 |
| 9 | West Bank and Gaza | 96.85% | 2024 |
| 10 | Singapore | 96.42% | 2021 |
| 11 | Colombia | 95.69% | 2024 |
| 12 | Kuwait | 95.35% | 2020 |
| 13 | Türkiye | 95.27% | 2021 |
| 14 | Brazil | 95.01% | 2024 |
| 15 | Mexico | 94.87% | 2024 |
| 16 | Bolivia | 94.82% | 2024 |
| 17 | Indonesia | 94.55% | 2020 |
| 18 | Dominican Republic | 94.43% | 2024 |
| 19 | Paraguay | 94.34% | 2024 |
| 20 | Mauritius | 92.74% | 2023 |
| 21 | Ecuador | 92.58% | 2024 |
| 22 | Sri Lanka | 92.06% | 2024 |
| 23 | Jordan | 92.03% | 2024 |
| 24 | Thailand | 91.49% | 2022 |
| 25 | South Africa | 90.83% | 2024 |
| 26 | Peru | 90.65% | 2024 |
| 27 | Honduras | 88.78% | 2024 |
| 28 | El Salvador | 88.25% | 2024 |
| 29 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 85.09% | 2023 |
| 30 | Tunisia | 80.07% | 2023 |
| 31 | Guatemala | 78.46% | 2024 |
| 32 | Bangladesh | 76.54% | 2022 |
| 33 | Uganda | 73.48% | 2024 |
| 34 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 73.3% | 2022 |
| 35 | India | 70.74% | 2024 |
| 36 | Cambodia | 63.64% | 2021 |
| 37 | Pakistan | 48.52% | 2021 |
| 38 | Senegal | 41.5% | 2023 |
| 39 | Burkina Faso | 35.73% | 2023 |
Regions and income groups
More education indicators
- Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24)
- Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI)
- Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24)
- Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24)
- Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above)
- Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)
- Compulsory education, duration (years)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)
- School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)
- School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)
- School enrollment, tertiary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)
- Preprimary education, duration (years)
Reading data like this
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, SE.ADT.LITR.FE.ZS, 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. View on data.worldbank.org; the full definition is in the World Bank's metadata glossary.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in