Of the economies in the World Bank's latest release, Uzbekistan has the highest literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) (100% in 2022) and Senegal the lowest (65.6% in 2023). The world figure is 92.02% (2024).
What this measures
Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 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 | Uzbekistan | 100% | 2022 |
| 2 | Singapore | 99.91% | 2021 |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 99.88% | 2023 |
| 4 | Armenia | 99.87% | 2023 |
| 5 | Georgia | 99.78% | 2024 |
| 6 | Spain | 99.75% | 2021 |
| 7 | Bolivia | 99.7% | 2024 |
| 8 | Brazil | 99.69% | 2024 |
| 9 | Peru | 99.59% | 2024 |
| 10 | Kuwait | 99.58% | 2020 |
| 11 | Colombia | 99.53% | 2024 |
| 12 | Philippines | 99.52% | 2022 |
| 13 | Chile | 99.5% | 2022 |
| 14 | Panama | 99.42% | 2024 |
| 15 | Venezuela, RB | 99.23% | 2017 |
| 16 | Uruguay | 99.2% | 2024 |
| 17 | West Bank and Gaza | 99.19% | 2024 |
| 18 | Ecuador | 99.19% | 2024 |
| 19 | Viet Nam | 99.14% | 2022 |
| 20 | Mexico | 99.05% | 2024 |
| 21 | Sri Lanka | 99.05% | 2024 |
| 22 | Jordan | 98.88% | 2024 |
| 23 | Maldives | 98.87% | 2019 |
| 24 | Dominican Republic | 98.79% | 2024 |
| 25 | Paraguay | 98.62% | 2024 |
| 26 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 98.62% | 2023 |
| 27 | El Salvador | 98.6% | 2024 |
| 28 | Thailand | 98.43% | 2022 |
| 29 | Tunisia | 98.13% | 2023 |
| 30 | South Africa | 97.99% | 2024 |
| 31 | Cambodia | 97.26% | 2023 |
| 32 | India | 96.64% | 2024 |
| 33 | Honduras | 96.62% | 2024 |
| 34 | Guatemala | 95.1% | 2024 |
| 35 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 94.82% | 2022 |
| 36 | Indonesia | 94.72% | 2022 |
| 37 | Bangladesh | 94.45% | 2022 |
| 38 | Rwanda | 92.37% | 2022 |
| 39 | Türkiye | 91.87% | 2022 |
| 40 | Burundi | 88.52% | 2020 |
| 41 | Togo | 87.65% | 2022 |
| 42 | Uganda | 85.94% | 2024 |
| 43 | Nigeria | 81.43% | 2024 |
| 44 | Ethiopia | 80.92% | 2022 |
| 45 | Benin | 67.94% | 2022 |
| 46 | Burkina Faso | 67.08% | 2023 |
| 47 | Pakistan | 66.52% | 2021 |
| 48 | Senegal | 65.6% | 2023 |
Regions and income groups
More education indicators
- 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)
- 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.1524.LT.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.
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