Of the economies in the World Bank's latest release, Armenia has the highest literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) (99.84% in 2023) and Burkina Faso the lowest (41.57% in 2023). The world figure is 87.74% (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. 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.
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 | 99.84% | 2023 |
| 2 | Azerbaijan | 99.78% | 2023 |
| 3 | Spain | 99.7% | 2021 |
| 4 | Georgia | 99.68% | 2024 |
| 5 | Uruguay | 98.91% | 2024 |
| 6 | Philippines | 98.47% | 2020 |
| 7 | Maldives | 98.21% | 2019 |
| 8 | West Bank and Gaza | 97.94% | 2024 |
| 9 | Singapore | 97.65% | 2021 |
| 10 | Türkiye | 97.26% | 2021 |
| 11 | Venezuela, RB | 97.18% | 2017 |
| 12 | Bolivia | 96.73% | 2024 |
| 13 | Kuwait | 96.46% | 2020 |
| 14 | Indonesia | 96% | 2020 |
| 15 | Mexico | 95.55% | 2024 |
| 16 | Colombia | 95.34% | 2024 |
| 17 | Paraguay | 94.86% | 2024 |
| 18 | Brazil | 94.74% | 2024 |
| 19 | Jordan | 94.44% | 2024 |
| 20 | Mauritius | 94.29% | 2023 |
| 21 | Dominican Republic | 94.03% | 2024 |
| 22 | Peru | 93.66% | 2024 |
| 23 | Ecuador | 93.49% | 2024 |
| 24 | Sri Lanka | 92.74% | 2024 |
| 25 | South Africa | 91.15% | 2024 |
| 26 | Thailand | 91.1% | 2022 |
| 27 | El Salvador | 89.77% | 2024 |
| 28 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 88.92% | 2023 |
| 29 | Honduras | 88.25% | 2024 |
| 30 | Tunisia | 86.25% | 2023 |
| 31 | Guatemala | 82.11% | 2024 |
| 32 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 79.45% | 2022 |
| 33 | Bangladesh | 79% | 2022 |
| 34 | India | 78.16% | 2024 |
| 35 | Uganda | 77.04% | 2024 |
| 36 | Cambodia | 71.93% | 2021 |
| 37 | Pakistan | 58.86% | 2021 |
| 38 | Senegal | 50.36% | 2023 |
| 39 | Burkina Faso | 41.57% | 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 female (% of females ages 15 and above)
- Literacy rate, adult male (% of males 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.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.
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