Of the economies in the World Bank's latest release, Armenia has the highest literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) (99.89% in 2023) and Burkina Faso the lowest (62.81% in 2022). The world figure is 93.11% (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 | Armenia | 99.89% | 2023 |
| 2 | Singapore | 99.89% | 2021 |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 99.88% | 2023 |
| 4 | Bolivia | 99.78% | 2024 |
| 5 | Philippines | 99.77% | 2022 |
| 6 | Spain | 99.73% | 2021 |
| 7 | Georgia | 99.66% | 2024 |
| 8 | Peru | 99.49% | 2024 |
| 9 | Brazil | 99.46% | 2024 |
| 10 | West Bank and Gaza | 99.4% | 2024 |
| 11 | Chile | 99.3% | 2022 |
| 12 | Kuwait | 99.3% | 2020 |
| 13 | Panama | 99.2% | 2024 |
| 14 | Uruguay | 99.02% | 2024 |
| 15 | Ecuador | 98.99% | 2024 |
| 16 | Colombia | 98.96% | 2024 |
| 17 | Mexico | 98.92% | 2024 |
| 18 | Sri Lanka | 98.87% | 2024 |
| 19 | Venezuela, RB | 98.75% | 2017 |
| 20 | Maldives | 98.74% | 2019 |
| 21 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 98.74% | 2023 |
| 22 | Jordan | 98.67% | 2024 |
| 23 | Paraguay | 98.62% | 2024 |
| 24 | El Salvador | 98.24% | 2024 |
| 25 | Dominican Republic | 98.21% | 2024 |
| 26 | Thailand | 98.17% | 2022 |
| 27 | Tunisia | 98.16% | 2023 |
| 28 | India | 97.34% | 2024 |
| 29 | South Africa | 97.17% | 2024 |
| 30 | Cambodia | 96.57% | 2023 |
| 31 | Honduras | 95.77% | 2024 |
| 32 | Guatemala | 95.36% | 2024 |
| 33 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 95.19% | 2022 |
| 34 | Indonesia | 93.79% | 2022 |
| 35 | Bangladesh | 93.45% | 2022 |
| 36 | Türkiye | 92.23% | 2022 |
| 37 | Togo | 90.36% | 2022 |
| 38 | Rwanda | 89.97% | 2022 |
| 39 | Uganda | 85.15% | 2024 |
| 40 | Ethiopia | 84.69% | 2022 |
| 41 | Zambia | 77.65% | 2024 |
| 42 | Pakistan | 73.13% | 2021 |
| 43 | Benin | 71.25% | 2022 |
| 44 | Senegal | 67.45% | 2023 |
| 45 | Burkina Faso | 62.81% | 2022 |
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, 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.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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