India vs Nigeria: Adult literacy
Adult literacy in 2024: 78.2% in India and 70.4% in Nigeria, by UNESCO estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in India, by 7.8 percentage points, or 1.11 times that in Nigeria.
IndiaNigeria
Watch it change on the mapChange since 1991, percentage points · UNESCO
Latest figures
% of adults · UNESCO
| Country | Latest | 10 years before |
|---|---|---|
| India | 78.2 2024 | — |
| Nigeria | 70.4 2024 | — |
| World | 87.7 2024 | 85.6 |
What the numbers say
- India has been higher since 2021, when it overtook Nigeria.
- The world as a whole: 87.7% in 2024.
Every year
% of adults · UNESCO
| Year | India | Nigeria | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 78.2 | 70.4 | 87.7 |
| 2023 | 81.7 | – | 87.6 |
| 2022 | 76.3 | – | 87.4 |
| 2021 | 76.1 | 63.2 | 87.2 |
| 2020 | 75.5 | – | 87 |
| 2019 | 74.9 | – | 86.8 |
| 2018 | 73.7 | – | 86.8 |
| 2017 | – | – | 86.5 |
| 2016 | – | 58.2 | 86.3 |
| 2015 | – | – | 86 |
| 2014 | – | – | 85.6 |
| 2013 | – | – | 85.2 |
| 2012 | 69.8 | – | 84.9 |
| 2011 | 69.3 | – | 84.7 |
| 2010 | 68.3 | – | 84.4 |
| 2009 | – | – | 83.8 |
| 2008 | – | – | 83.5 |
| 2007 | – | – | 83.1 |
| 2006 | 62.8 | 70.2 | 82.5 |
| 2005 | – | – | 82.6 |
| 2004 | – | – | 82.6 |
| 2003 | – | 54.8 | 82.2 |
| 2002 | – | – | 81.7 |
| 2001 | 61 | – | 81.4 |
| 2000 | – | – | 81.1 |
| 1999 | – | – | 80.9 |
| 1998 | – | – | 80.5 |
| 1997 | – | – | 79.3 |
| 1996 | – | – | 77.3 |
| 1995 | – | – | 76.9 |
| 1994 | – | – | 76.4 |
| 1993 | – | – | 76 |
| 1992 | – | – | 75.5 |
| 1991 | 48.2 | 55.5 | 75.1 |
| 1990 | – | – | 74.6 |
| 1989 | – | – | 74.1 |
| 1988 | – | – | 73.6 |
| 1987 | – | – | 71.9 |
| 1986 | – | – | 71.3 |
| 1985 | – | – | 70.7 |
| 1984 | – | – | 70.2 |
| 1983 | – | – | 69.5 |
| 1982 | – | – | 68.9 |
| 1981 | 40.8 | – | 68.4 |
| 1980 | – | – | 67.8 |
| 1979 | – | – | 67.2 |
| 1978 | – | – | 66.5 |
| 1977 | – | – | 65.9 |
| 1976 | – | – | 65.6 |
| 1975 | – | – | 65.4 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- The share of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a short, simple statement about their everyday life.
- Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, via the World Bank.
- The faint line is the world as a whole, as the same source counts it.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time