List of countries by literacy rate

World map of countries shaded according to the literacy rate for all people aged 15 and over

This is a list of countries by literacy rate. The figures represented are almost entirely collected by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) on behalf of UNESCO with 2015 estimates based on people aged 15 or over who can read and write. Where data is not taken from this, notes are provided. The data is collated by mostly using surveys within the last ten years which are self-declared by the persons in question.[1] UIS provide estimates based on these for the year 2015 with a Global Age-specific Literacy Projections Model (GALP).[2]

The global literacy rate for all people aged 15 and above is 86.3%. The global literacy rate for all males is 90.0% and the rate for all females is 82.7%. The rate varies throughout the world with developed nations having a rate of 99.2% (2013); Oceania having 71.3%; South and West Asia having 70.2% (2015) and sub-Saharan Africa at 64.0% (2015).[3] Over 75% of the world's 781 million illiterate adults are found in South Asia, West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and women represent almost two-thirds of all illiterate adults globally.[4]

List of countries

Country UNESCO[3] Non-UNESCO
literacy rate
Literacy rate (all) Male literacy Female literacy Gender difference
 World 86.3 86.3% 90.0% 82.7% 7.3%
 Afghanistan38.1561238.2%52.0%24.2%27.8%
 Albania97.6241497.6%98.4%96.9%1.5%
 Algeria80.1989180.2%87.2%73.1%14.0%
 Andorra not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Angola71.1409971.1%82.0%60.7%21.3%
 Antigua and Barbuda 98.95not reported by UNESCO 201599.0%(2013)[3][note 1]
 Argentina98.0851698.1%98.0%98.1%-0.1%
 Armenia99.767399.8%99.8%99.7%0.1%
 Australia not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Austria not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Azerbaijan99.8107899.8%99.9%99.7%0.1%
 Bahamas not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Bahrain95.7029595.7%96.9%93.5%3.5%
 Bangladesh61.5458861.5%64.6%58.5%6.1%71% (2014)[5][note 2]
 Barbados not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Belarus99.728999.7%99.8%99.7%0.1%
 Belgium not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Belize82.6888682.7%82.3%83.0%-0.7%
 Benin38.4471438.4%49.9%27.3%22.6%
 Bhutan64.8874564.9%73.1%55.0%18.1%
 Bolivia95.6509795.7%97.8%93.6%4.2%
 Bosnia and Herzegovina98.4768198.5%99.5%97.5%2.1%
 Botswana88.4649388.5%88.0%88.9%-0.9%
 Brazil92.5837192.6%92.2%92.9%-0.7%
 Brunei Darussalam96.408396.4%97.7%95.1%2.6%
 Bulgaria98.3889898.4%98.7%98.1%0.7%
 Burkina Faso36.0226336%43.0%29.3%13.7%
 Burundi85.6248185.6%88.2%83.1%5.1%
 Cabo Verde87.5765687.6%92.1%83.1%9.0%
 Cambodia77.1859877.2%84.5%70.5%13.9%
 Cameroon74.9855775%81.2%68.9%12.3%
 Canada not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Central African Republic36.7526136.8%50.7%24.4%26.4%
 Chad40.1713740.2%48.5%31.9%16.6%
 Chile97.2966497.3%97.4%97.2%0.2%
 China96.3754896.4%98.2%94.5%3.7%
 Colombia94.6755494.7%94.6%94.8%-0.2%
 Comoros77.7635577.8%81.8%73.7%8.1%
 Congo79.3111779.3%86.4%72.9%13.6%
 Congo, Democratic Republic of the77.2896477.3%88.9%66.0%22.8%
 Costa Rica97.7552797.8%97.7%97.8%-0.1%
 Côte d'Ivoire43.1130643.1%53.1%32.5%20.6%
 Croatia99.2741299.3%99.7%98.9%0.7%
 Cuba99.7115799.7%99.7%99.8%-0.1%
 Cyprus99.0656999.1%99.5%98.7%0.8%
 Czech Republic not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Denmark not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Djibouti not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Dominica not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Dominican Republic91.7907791.8%91.2%92.3%-1.1%
 Ecuador94.4550494.5%95.4%93.5%1.8%
 Egypt75.2364775.2%83.2%67.3%16.0%
 El Salvador88.3868388.4%90.7%86.4%4.3%
 Equatorial Guinea95.2569295.3%97.4%93.0%4.4%
 Eritrea73.7699773.8%82.4%65.5%16.9%
 Estonia99.8251799.8%99.8%99.8%0.0%
 Ethiopia49.090749.1%57.2%41.1%16.1%
 Fiji not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Finland not reported by UNESCO 2015
 France not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Gabon83.1798183.2%85.3%81.0%4.3%
 Gambia55.5471955.5%63.9%47.6%16.3%
 Georgia99.760999.8%99.8%99.7%0.1%
 Germany not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Ghana76.5728176.6%82.0%71.4%10.7%
 Greece97.6868697.7%98.5%96.9%1.6%
 Grenada not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Guatemala79.305379.3%84.7%74.4%10.4%
 Guinea30.4082630.4%38.1%22.8%15.3%
 Guinea-Bissau59.9105759.9%71.8%48.3%23.5%
 Guyana88.4996888.5%87.2%89.8%-2.6%
 Haiti60.7322860.7%64.3%57.3%7.0%
 Honduras88.4838188.5%88.4%88.6%-0.1%
 Hungary99.0504399.1%99.1%99.0%0.2%
 Iceland not reported by UNESCO 2015
 India72.1309572.1%80.9%62.8%18.1%
 Indonesia93.8826293.9%96.3%91.5%4.7%
 Iran86.8468386.8%91.2%82.5%8.7%
 Iraq79.687579.7%85.7%73.7%11.9%
 Ireland not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Israel 97.8 not reported by UNESCO 201597.8% (2011)[4][note 3]
 Italy99.1549899.2%99.4%99.0%0.4%
 Jamaica88.6900288.7%84.0%93.1%-9.1%
 Japan not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Jordan96.6659296.7%98.1%95.2%3.0%
 Kazakhstan99.7901799.8%99.8%99.8%0.0%
 Kenya77.9650378%81.1%74.9%6.2%
 Kiribati not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of99.99924100%100.0%100.0%0.0%
 Korea, Republic of not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Kuwait96.1590596.2%96.9%95.0%1.9%
 Kyrgyzstan99.5209799.5%99.6%99.4%0.2%
 Laos79.860479.9%87.1%72.8%14.3%
 Latvia99.8913899.9%99.9%99.9%0.0%
 Lebanon93.9422593.9%96.0%91.8%4.1%
 Lesotho79.3609479.4%70.1%88.3%-18.2%
 Liberia47.6001347.6%62.4%32.8%29.6%
 Libya91.0232891%96.7%85.6%11.1%
 Liechtenstein not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Lithuania99.8198899.8%99.8%99.8%0.0%
 Luxembourg not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Macedonia97.8263297.8%98.8%96.8%2.0%
 Madagascar64.656364.7%66.7%62.6%4.1%
 Malawi65.7942765.8%73.0%58.6%14.4%
 Malaysia94.644694.6%96.2%93.2%3.0%
 Maldives99.3068299.3%99.8%98.8%0.9%
 Mali38.7019438.7%48.2%29.2%19.0%
 Malta94.138894.1%92.5%95.7%-3.2%
 Marshall Islands not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Mauritania52.10252.1%62.6%41.6%21.0%
 Mauritius90.6225390.6%92.9%88.5%4.4%
 Mexico94.3896894.4%95.6%93.3%2.2%
 Micronesia not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Moldova99.362699.4%99.7%99.1%0.7%
 Monaco not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Mongolia98.3840298.4%98.2%98.6%-0.4%
 Montenegro98.7322998.7%99.5%98.0%1.4%
 Morocco72.3773272.4%82.7%62.5%20.2%
 Mozambique58.7728958.8%73.3%45.4%27.9%
 Myanmar93.0941593.1%95.2%91.2%4.0%
 Namibia81.9412981.9%79.2%84.5%-5.3%
 Nauru not reported by UNESCO 2015
   Nepal64.6637964.7%75.6%55.1%20.5%
 Netherlands not reported by UNESCO 2015
 New Zealand not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Nicaragua82.8173482.8%82.4%83.2%-0.9%
 Niger19.1297919.1%27.3%11.0%16.3%
 Nigeria59.5679759.6%69.2%49.7%19.5%71.6% (2010)[6][note 4]
 Norway not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Oman94.7560194.8%96.9%90.0%6.9%
 Pakistan58.6831458.7%71.5%45.3%26.2%
 Palau99.5239799.5%99.5%99.6%-0.1%
 Panama95.0483395%95.7%94.4%1.2%
 Papua New Guinea64.2346964.2%65.6%62.8%2.8%
 Paraguay95.5624495.6%96.1%95.0%1.1%
 Peru94.4795394.5%97.3%91.7%5.6%
 Philippines96.289296.3%95.8%96.8%-1.0%
 Poland99.7914199.8%99.9%99.7%0.2%
 Portugal95.6781495.7%97.1%94.4%2.7%
 Qatar97.7573597.8%97.9%97.3%0.6%
 Romania98.7687198.8%99.1%98.5%0.6%
 Russia99.7207899.7%99.7%99.7%0.0%
 Rwanda70.5159270.5%73.2%68.0%5.2%
 Saint Kitts and Nevis not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Saint Lucia not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Samoa99.0150299%98.9%99.1%-0.2%
 San Marino not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Sao Tome and Principe74.9160274.9%81.8%68.4%13.4%
 Saudi Arabia94.6511494.7%97.0%91.1%5.9%
 Senegal55.6682555.7%68.5%43.8%24.6%
 Serbia98.1080598.1%99.1%97.2%1.9%
 Seychelles95.213695.2%94.7%95.7%-1.0%
 Sierra Leone48.0904748.1%58.7%37.7%21.1%
 Singapore96.8377296.8%98.7%95.1%3.6%
 Slovakia99.619299.6%99.6%99.6%0.0%
 Slovenia99.7159699.7%99.7%99.7%0.0%
 Solomon Islands not reported by UNESCO 201584.1% (2015)[4][note 5]
 Somalia not reported by UNESCO 2015
 South Africa94.2666494.3%95.5%93.1%2.4%
 South Sudan31.9352231.9%38.6%25.3%13.3%
 Spain98.0979798.1%98.7%97.5%1.3%
 Sri Lanka92.6344892.6%93.6%91.7%1.9%
 Sudan75.8998975.9%83.3%68.6%14.6%
 Suriname95.5719195.6%96.1%95.0%1.1%
 Swaziland87.4701987.5%87.4%87.5%-0.1%
 Sweden not reported by UNESCO 2015
  Switzerland not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Syria86.4332786.4%91.7%81.0%10.7%
 Tajikistan99.7733499.8%99.8%99.7%0.1%
 Tanzania, United Republic of80.3205480.3%84.8%75.9%9.0%
 Thailand96.6650796.7%96.6%96.7%0.0%
 Timor-Leste67.5208567.5%71.5%63.4%8.1%
 Togo66.547366.5%78.3%55.3%23.0%
 Tonga99.3978899.4%99.3%99.4%-0.1%
 Trinidad and Tobago98.9630599%99.2%98.7%0.5%
 Tunisia81.7794981.8%89.6%74.2%15.4%
 Turkey95.0106295%98.4%91.8%6.6%
 Turkmenistan99.6929199.7%99.8%99.6%0.1%
 Tuvalu not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Uganda73.863373.9%80.8%66.9%14.0%
 Ukraine99.7647699.8%99.8%99.7%0.1%
 United Arab Emirates93.8358593.8%93.1%95.8%-2.6%
 United Kingdom not reported by UNESCO 2015
 United States of America not reported by UNESCO 2015
 Uruguay98.4251298.4%98.1%98.7%-0.6%
 Uzbekistan99.5936699.6%99.7%99.5%0.3%
 Vanuatu85.2251885.2%86.6%83.8%2.8%
 Venezuela95.3624595.4%95.0%95.7%-0.7%
 Vietnam94.5068394.5%96.3%92.8%3.4%
 Yemen70.0740170.1%85.1%55.0%30.1%
 Zambia63.3766163.4%70.9%56.0%14.9%
 Zimbabwe86.5025686.5%88.5%84.6%4.0%

List of other territories

TerritoryLiteracy rate (all)Male literacyFemale literacyGender differenceYearNotes
 Aruba97.5%97.5%97.5%0.0%2015[3]A constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
 Cayman Islands98.9%98.7%99.0%-0.3%2007[3]An overseas territory of the United Kingdom.
 Guadeloupe96.5%96.4%96.6%-0.2%2015[3]Overseas region/department of France.
 Guam99.8%99.8%99.8%0.0%2015[3]The United States has sovereignty.
 Kosovo91.9%96.6%87.5%9.1%2003[4]Member of two UN specialized agencies (World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund). It is claimed by Serbia.
 Macau96.2%98.0%94.6%3.4%2015[3]A special administrative region of which China has sovereignty.
 Martinique97.0%97.6%96.4%1.2%2015[3]Overseas region/department of France.
 New Caledonia96.9%97.3%96.5%0.8%2015[3]Overseas region/department of France.
 Palestine96.7%98.5%94.8%3.7%2015[3]UN Observer State[7]
 Puerto Rico93.3%92.8%93.8%-1.0%2015[3]The United States has sovereignty.
 Réunion93.9%93.2%94.5%-1.3%2015[3]Overseas region/department of France.
 Taiwan98.5%99.7%97.3%2.4%2014[4]Member of one UN specialized agency (World Health Organization) as Chinese Taipei; Claimed by the People's Republic of China.

See also

Notes

  1. The breakdown by gender is 98.4% male, 99.4% female (difference of -1.0%)
  2. CRI do not give a breakdown by gender or state the age bracket for the data
  3. The breakdown by gender is 98.7% male, 95.8% female (difference of 2.9%)
  4. The breakdown by gender is 79.3% male, 63.7% female (difference is 15.6%)
  5. The breakdown by gender is 88.9% male, 79.2% female (difference is 9.7%)

References

  1. "Literacy Statistics Metadata Information Table". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. September 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  2. Lutz, Wolfgang and Scherbov, Sergei (July 2006). Global Age-specific Literacy Projections Model (GALP): Rationale, Methodology and Software (PDF). Adult Education and Literacy Statistics Programme (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years (both sexes, female, male)". UIS Data Centre. UNESCO. August 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Country Comparison to the World of Literacy Rate". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  5. CRI=Center Research and Information (2014). Bangladesh Education for All. CRI Publication. p. 138. ISBN 0756698596.
  6. "National Literacy Survey". National Bureau of Statistics. June 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  7. "Non-member States". United Nations. Retrieved 12 November 2015.

External links

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