Compare countries
Adult literacy around the world
Adult literacy: 170 countries have figures, the latest from 2024. The world as a whole: 87.7% in 2024.
% of adults · UNESCO
Every country, by its latest figure
% of adults · UNESCO
| # | Country | Latest | Latest | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100 | 2022 | |
| 2 | North Korea | 100 | 2008 | |
| 3 | Tuvalu | 100 | 2022 | |
| 4 | Russia | 99.9 | 2021 | |
| 5 | San Marino | 99.9 | 2022 | |
| 6 | Latvia | 99.9 | 2011 | |
| 7 | Turkmenistan | 99.9 | 2022 | |
| 8 | Estonia | 99.9 | 2011 | |
| 9 | Belarus | 99.9 | 2019 | |
| 10 | Armenia | 99.8 | 2023 | |
| 11 | Palau | 99.8 | 2020 | |
| 12 | Lithuania | 99.8 | 2011 | |
| 13 | Azerbaijan | 99.8 | 2023 | |
| 14 | Tajikistan | 99.7 | 2009 | |
| 15 | Kazakhstan | 99.7 | 2009 | |
| 16 | Spain | 99.7 | 2021 | |
| 17 | Georgia | 99.7 | 2024 | |
| 18 | Slovenia | 99.5 | 1991 | |
| 19 | Tonga | 99.5 | 2023 | |
| 20 | Ukraine | 99.4 | 2001 | |
| 21 | Guam | 99.4 | 1990 | |
| 22 | Moldova | 99.4 | 2014 | |
| 23 | Italy | 99.4 | 2019 | |
| 24 | Serbia | 99.3 | 2022 | |
| 25 | Barbados | 99.3 | 1970 | |
| 26 | Kyrgyzstan | 99.2 | 2009 | |
| 27 | Romania | 99.2 | 2021 | |
| 28 | Argentina | 99.1 | 2020 | |
| 29 | Antigua & Barbuda | 99 | 2001 | |
| 30 | Uruguay | 98.9 | 2024 | |
| 31 | Cayman Islands | 98.9 | 2017 | |
| 32 | Hungary | 98.9 | 1980 | |
| 33 | United Arab Emirates | 98.8 | 2024 | |
| 34 | Poland | 98.7 | 1978 | |
| 35 | Cyprus | 98.7 | 2011 | |
| 36 | Mongolia | 98.6 | 2024 | |
| 37 | Kiribati | 98.6 | 2020 | |
| 38 | Montenegro | 98.5 | 2018 | |
| 39 | Philippines | 98.5 | 2020 | |
| 40 | Bulgaria | 98.4 | 2011 | |
| 41 | Maldives | 98.2 | 2019 | |
| 42 | Croatia | 98.2 | 2001 | |
| 43 | Samoa | 98 | 2019 | |
| 44 | South Korea | 98 | 2008 | |
| 45 | Palestinian Territories | 97.9 | 2024 | |
| 46 | Saudi Arabia | 97.9 | 2024 | |
| 47 | Bahrain | 97.8 | 2024 | |
| 48 | Grenada | 97.8 | 1970 | |
| 49 | Qatar | 97.8 | 2014 | |
| 50 | Albania | 97.7 | 2023 | |
| 51 | Singapore | 97.7 | 2021 | |
| 52 | Cuba | 97.7 | 2019 | |
| 53 | Costa Rica | 97.4 | 2011 | |
| 54 | Oman | 97.3 | 2022 | |
| 55 | American Samoa | 97.3 | 1980 | |
| 56 | Türkiye | 97.3 | 2021 | |
| 57 | Venezuela | 97.2 | 2017 | |
| 58 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 97 | 2013 | |
| 59 | Trinidad & Tobago | 96.9 | 1990 | |
| 60 | Aruba | 96.8 | 2010 | |
| 61 | China | 96.7 | 2020 | |
| 62 | Bolivia | 96.7 | 2024 | |
| 63 | Nauru | 96.6 | 2023 | |
| 64 | Macao SAR China | 96.5 | 2016 | |
| 65 | Kuwait | 96.5 | 2020 | |
| 66 | Chile | 96.4 | 2017 | |
| 67 | Panama | 96.2 | 2024 | |
| 68 | New Caledonia | 96.1 | 1996 | |
| 69 | North Macedonia | 96.1 | 2002 | |
| 70 | Vietnam | 96.1 | 2022 | |
| 71 | Brunei | 96.1 | 2011 | |
| 72 | Indonesia | 96 | 2020 | |
| 73 | Malaysia | 95.8 | 2022 | |
| 74 | Marshall Islands | 95.8 | 2021 | |
| 75 | St. Vincent & Grenadines | 95.6 | 1970 | |
| 76 | Mexico | 95.6 | 2024 | |
| 77 | Colombia | 95.3 | 2024 | |
| 78 | Paraguay | 94.9 | 2024 | |
| 79 | Brazil | 94.7 | 2024 | |
| 80 | Portugal | 94.5 | 2011 | |
| 81 | Jordan | 94.4 | 2024 | |
| 82 | Syria | 94.4 | 2021 | |
| 83 | Mauritius | 94.3 | 2023 | |
| 84 | Dominican Republic | 94 | 2024 | |
| 85 | Seychelles | 94 | 2010 | |
| 86 | Greece | 93.9 | 2009 | |
| 87 | Peru | 93.7 | 2024 | |
| 88 | Myanmar (Burma) | 93.5 | 2020 | |
| 89 | Ecuador | 93.5 | 2024 | |
| 90 | Malta | 93.3 | 2011 | |
| 91 | Zimbabwe | 93.2 | 2019 | |
| 92 | Suriname | 92.9 | 2012 | |
| 93 | Sri Lanka | 92.7 | 2024 | |
| 94 | Puerto Rico | 92.4 | 2017 | |
| 95 | Lebanon | 92 | 2019 | |
| 96 | Israel | 91.8 | 1983 | |
| 97 | South Africa | 91.2 | 2024 | |
| 98 | Thailand | 91.1 | 2022 | |
| 99 | Eswatini | 90.8 | 2022 | |
| 100 | Lesotho | 90.5 | 2024 | |
| 101 | El Salvador | 89.8 | 2024 | |
| 102 | Iran | 88.9 | 2023 | |
| 103 | Gabon | 88.9 | 2021 | |
| 104 | Cape Verde | 88.5 | 2024 | |
| 105 | Equatorial Guinea | 88.3 | 2000 | |
| 106 | Honduras | 88.3 | 2024 | |
| 107 | Vanuatu | 88 | 2023 | |
| 108 | Belize | 87.9 | 2022 | |
| 109 | Namibia | 87.6 | 2023 | |
| 110 | São Tomé & Príncipe | 87.4 | 2019 | |
| 111 | Nicaragua | 87.3 | 2014 | |
| 112 | Papua New Guinea | 87 | 2022 | |
| 113 | Tunisia | 86.3 | 2023 | |
| 114 | Guyana | 85.6 | 2020 | |
| 115 | Iraq | 84.1 | 2021 | |
| 116 | Kenya | 82.2 | 2000 | |
| 117 | Guatemala | 82.1 | 2024 | |
| 118 | Botswana | 81.2 | 2003 | |
| 119 | Jamaica | 79.9 | 1999 | |
| 120 | Egypt | 79.5 | 2022 | |
| 121 | Bangladesh | 79 | 2022 | |
| 122 | Rwanda | 78.8 | 2022 | |
| 123 | Tanzania | 78.2 | 2022 | |
| 124 | India | 78.2 | 2024 | |
| 125 | Uganda | 77 | 2024 | |
| 126 | Solomon Islands | 76.6 | 1999 | |
| 127 | Ghana | 76.5 | 2021 | |
| 128 | Congo - Brazzaville | 76.1 | 2005 | |
| 129 | Laos | 75.6 | 2023 | |
| 130 | Comoros | 75.6 | 2021 | |
| 131 | Algeria | 75.1 | 2008 | |
| 132 | Madagascar | 74.7 | 2021 | |
| 133 | Togo | 72.6 | 2022 | |
| 134 | Cameroon | 72.6 | 2018 | |
| 135 | Cambodia | 71.9 | 2021 | |
| 136 | Zambia | 71.8 | 2024 | |
| 137 | Burundi | 71.3 | 2020 | |
| 138 | Nigeria | 70.4 | 2024 | |
| 139 | Malawi | 70.2 | 2020 | |
| 140 | Timor-Leste | 69.4 | 2022 | |
| 141 | Nepal | 68.7 | 2019 | |
| 142 | Congo - Kinshasa | 68.5 | 2023 | |
| 143 | Angola | 68.2 | 2023 | |
| 144 | Haiti | 68 | 2017 | |
| 145 | Bhutan | 64.9 | 2022 | |
| 146 | Eritrea | 64.7 | 2008 | |
| 147 | Morocco | 64.3 | 2014 | |
| 148 | Guinea-Bissau | 63.9 | 2022 | |
| 149 | Mozambique | 61.7 | 2022 | |
| 150 | Ethiopia | 60.5 | 2022 | |
| 151 | Libya | 60.2 | 1984 | |
| 152 | Mauritania | 59.5 | 2020 | |
| 153 | Liberia | 59.4 | 2010 | |
| 154 | Pakistan | 58.9 | 2021 | |
| 155 | Somalia | 54.1 | 2022 | |
| 156 | Sudan | 53.5 | 2008 | |
| 157 | Gambia | 51.6 | 2021 | |
| 158 | Benin | 51.4 | 2022 | |
| 159 | Senegal | 50.4 | 2023 | |
| 160 | Côte d’Ivoire | 50 | 2021 | |
| 161 | Sierra Leone | 43.6 | 2019 | |
| 162 | Central African Republic | 42.4 | 2019 | |
| 163 | Burkina Faso | 41.6 | 2023 | |
| 164 | Guinea | 39.6 | 2018 | |
| 165 | Afghanistan | 37.3 | 2021 | |
| 166 | Yemen | 37.1 | 1994 | |
| 167 | Mali | 35.6 | 2024 | |
| 168 | Niger | 35.6 | 2022 | |
| 169 | Chad | 30.6 | 2019 | |
| 170 | South Sudan | 26.8 | 2008 |
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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 chart shows the 5 most populous countries with figures; the table ranks every country by its own latest year.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time