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 suveys 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 over 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
Country	Literacy rate (all)	Male literacy	Female literacy	Gender difference	Non-UNESCO literacy rate
World	86.3 86.3%	90.0%	82.7%	7.3%
Afghanistan	38.1561238.2%	52.0%	24.2%	27.8%
Albania	97.6241497.6%	98.4%	96.9%	1.5%
Algeria	80.1989180.2%	87.2%	73.1%	14.0%
Andorra	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Angola	71.1409971.1%	82.0%	60.7%	21.3%
Antigua and Barbuda	98.95not reported by UNESCO 2015				99.0%(2013)^[3]^{[note 1]}
Argentina	98.0851698.1%	98.0%	98.1%	-0.1%
Armenia	99.767399.8%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
Australia	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Austria	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Azerbaijan	99.8107899.8%	99.9%	99.7%	0.1%
Bahamas	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Bahrain	95.7029595.7%	96.9%	93.5%	3.5%
Bangladesh	61.5458861.5%	64.6%	58.5%	6.1%	71% (2014)^[5]^{[note 2]}
Barbados	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Belarus	99.728999.7%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
Belgium	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Belize	82.6888682.7%	82.3%	83.0%	-0.7%
Benin	38.4471438.4%	49.9%	27.3%	22.6%
Bhutan	64.8874564.9%	73.1%	55.0%	18.1%
Bolivia	95.6509795.7%	97.8%	93.6%	4.2%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	98.4768198.5%	99.5%	97.5%	2.1%
Botswana	88.4649388.5%	88.0%	88.9%	-0.9%
Brazil	92.5837192.6%	92.2%	92.9%	-0.7%
Brunei Darussalam	96.408396.4%	97.7%	95.1%	2.6%
Bulgaria	98.3889898.4%	98.7%	98.1%	0.7%
Burkina Faso	36.0226336%	43.0%	29.3%	13.7%
Burundi	85.6248185.6%	88.2%	83.1%	5.1%
Cabo Verde	87.5765687.6%	92.1%	83.1%	9.0%
Cambodia	77.1859877.2%	84.5%	70.5%	13.9%
Cameroon	74.9855775%	81.2%	68.9%	12.3%
Canada	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Central African Republic	36.7526136.8%	50.7%	24.4%	26.4%
Chad	40.1713740.2%	48.5%	31.9%	16.6%
Chile	97.2966497.3%	97.4%	97.2%	0.2%
China	96.3754896.4%	98.2%	94.5%	3.7%
Colombia	94.6755494.7%	94.6%	94.8%	-0.2%
Comoros	77.7635577.8%	81.8%	73.7%	8.1%
Congo	79.3111779.3%	86.4%	72.9%	13.6%
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	77.2896477.3%	88.9%	66.0%	22.8%
Costa Rica	97.7552797.8%	97.7%	97.8%	-0.1%
Côte d'Ivoire	43.1130643.1%	53.1%	32.5%	20.6%
Croatia	99.2741299.3%	99.7%	98.9%	0.7%
Cuba	99.7115799.7%	99.7%	99.8%	-0.1%
Cyprus	99.0656999.1%	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 Republic	91.7907791.8%	91.2%	92.3%	-1.1%
Ecuador	94.4550494.5%	95.4%	93.5%	1.8%
Egypt	75.2364775.2%	83.2%	67.3%	16.0%
El Salvador	88.3868388.4%	90.7%	86.4%	4.3%
Equatorial Guinea	95.2569295.3%	97.4%	93.0%	4.4%
Eritrea	73.7699773.8%	82.4%	65.5%	16.9%
Estonia	99.8251799.8%	99.8%	99.8%	0.0%
Ethiopia	49.090749.1%	57.2%	41.1%	16.1%
Fiji	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Finland	not reported by UNESCO 2015
France	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Gabon	83.1798183.2%	85.3%	81.0%	4.3%
Gambia	55.5471955.5%	63.9%	47.6%	16.3%
Georgia	99.760999.8%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
Germany	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Ghana	76.5728176.6%	82.0%	71.4%	10.7%
Greece	97.6868697.7%	98.5%	96.9%	1.6%
Grenada	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Guatemala	79.305379.3%	84.7%	74.4%	10.4%
Guinea	30.4082630.4%	38.1%	22.8%	15.3%
Guinea-Bissau	59.9105759.9%	71.8%	48.3%	23.5%
Guyana	88.4996888.5%	87.2%	89.8%	-2.6%
Haiti	60.7322860.7%	64.3%	57.3%	7.0%
Honduras	88.4838188.5%	88.4%	88.6%	-0.1%
Hungary	99.0504399.1%	99.1%	99.0%	0.2%
Iceland	not reported by UNESCO 2015
India	72.1309572.1%	80.9%	62.8%	18.1%
Indonesia	93.8826293.9%	96.3%	91.5%	4.7%
Iran	86.8468386.8%	91.2%	82.5%	8.7%
Iraq	79.687579.7%	85.7%	73.7%	11.9%
Ireland	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Israel	97.8 not reported by UNESCO 2015				97.8% (2011)^[4]^{[note 3]}
Italy	99.1549899.2%	99.4%	99.0%	0.4%
Jamaica	88.6900288.7%	84.0%	93.1%	-9.1%
Japan	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Jordan	96.6659296.7%	98.1%	95.2%	3.0%
Kazakhstan	99.7901799.8%	99.8%	99.8%	0.0%
Kenya	77.9650378%	81.1%	74.9%	6.2%
Kiribati	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of	99.99924100%	100.0%	100.0%	0.0%
Korea, Republic of	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Kuwait	96.1590596.2%	96.9%	95.0%	1.9%
Kyrgyzstan	99.5209799.5%	99.6%	99.4%	0.2%
Laos	79.860479.9%	87.1%	72.8%	14.3%
Latvia	99.8913899.9%	99.9%	99.9%	0.0%
Lebanon	93.9422593.9%	96.0%	91.8%	4.1%
Lesotho	79.3609479.4%	70.1%	88.3%	-18.2%
Liberia	47.6001347.6%	62.4%	32.8%	29.6%
Libya	91.0232891%	96.7%	85.6%	11.1%
Liechtenstein	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Lithuania	99.8198899.8%	99.8%	99.8%	0.0%
Luxembourg	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Macedonia	97.8263297.8%	98.8%	96.8%	2.0%
Madagascar	64.656364.7%	66.7%	62.6%	4.1%
Malawi	65.7942765.8%	73.0%	58.6%	14.4%
Malaysia	94.644694.6%	96.2%	93.2%	3.0%
Maldives	99.3068299.3%	99.8%	98.8%	0.9%
Mali	38.7019438.7%	48.2%	29.2%	19.0%
Malta	94.138894.1%	92.5%	95.7%	-3.2%
Marshall Islands	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Mauritania	52.10252.1%	62.6%	41.6%	21.0%
Mauritius	90.6225390.6%	92.9%	88.5%	4.4%
Mexico	94.3896894.4%	95.6%	93.3%	2.2%
Micronesia	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Moldova	99.362699.4%	99.7%	99.1%	0.7%
Monaco	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Mongolia	98.3840298.4%	98.2%	98.6%	-0.4%
Montenegro	98.7322998.7%	99.5%	98.0%	1.4%
Morocco	72.3773272.4%	82.7%	62.5%	20.2%
Mozambique	58.7728958.8%	73.3%	45.4%	27.9%
Myanmar	93.0941593.1%	95.2%	91.2%	4.0%
Namibia	81.9412981.9%	79.2%	84.5%	-5.3%
Nauru	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Nepal	64.6637964.7%	75.6%	55.1%	20.5%
Netherlands	not reported by UNESCO 2015
New Zealand	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Nicaragua	82.8173482.8%	82.4%	83.2%	-0.9%
Niger	19.1297919.1%	27.3%	11.0%	16.3%
Nigeria	59.5679759.6%	69.2%	49.7%	19.5%
Norway	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Oman	94.7560194.8%	96.9%	90.0%	6.9%
Pakistan	58.6831458.7%	71.5%	45.3%	26.2%
Palau	99.5239799.5%	99.5%	99.6%	-0.1%
Panama	95.0483395%	95.7%	94.4%	1.2%
Papua New Guinea	64.2346964.2%	65.6%	62.8%	2.8%
Paraguay	95.5624495.6%	96.1%	95.0%	1.1%
Peru	94.4795394.5%	97.3%	91.7%	5.6%
Philippines	96.289296.3%	95.8%	96.8%	-1.0%
Poland	99.7914199.8%	99.9%	99.7%	0.2%
Portugal	95.6781495.7%	97.1%	94.4%	2.7%
Qatar	97.7573597.8%	97.9%	97.3%	0.6%
Romania	98.7687198.8%	99.1%	98.5%	0.6%
Russia	99.7207899.7%	99.7%	99.7%	0.0%
Rwanda	70.5159270.5%	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
Samoa	99.0150299%	98.9%	99.1%	-0.2%
San Marino	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Sao Tome and Principe	74.9160274.9%	81.8%	68.4%	13.4%
Saudi Arabia	94.6511494.7%	97.0%	91.1%	5.9%
Senegal	55.6682555.7%	68.5%	43.8%	24.6%
Serbia	98.1080598.1%	99.1%	97.2%	1.9%
Seychelles	95.213695.2%	94.7%	95.7%	-1.0%
Sierra Leone	48.0904748.1%	58.7%	37.7%	21.1%
Singapore	96.8377296.8%	98.7%	95.1%	3.6%
Slovakia	99.619299.6%	99.6%	99.6%	0.0%
Slovenia	99.7159699.7%	99.7%	99.7%	0.0%
Solomon Islands	not reported by UNESCO 2015				84.1% (2015)^[4]^{[note 4]}
Somalia	not reported by UNESCO 2015
South Africa	94.2666494.3%	95.5%	93.1%	2.4%
South Sudan	31.9352231.9%	38.6%	25.3%	13.3%
Spain	98.0979798.1%	98.7%	97.5%	1.3%
Sri Lanka	92.6344892.6%	93.6%	91.7%	1.9%
Sudan	75.8998975.9%	83.3%	68.6%	14.6%
Suriname	95.5719195.6%	96.1%	95.0%	1.1%
Swaziland	87.4701987.5%	87.4%	87.5%	-0.1%
Sweden	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Switzerland	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Syria	86.4332786.4%	91.7%	81.0%	10.7%
Tajikistan	99.7733499.8%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
Tanzania, United Republic of	80.3205480.3%	84.8%	75.9%	9.0%
Thailand	96.6650796.7%	96.6%	96.7%	0.0%
Timor-Leste	67.5208567.5%	71.5%	63.4%	8.1%
Togo	66.547366.5%	78.3%	55.3%	23.0%
Tonga	99.3978899.4%	99.3%	99.4%	-0.1%
Trinidad and Tobago	98.9630599%	99.2%	98.7%	0.5%
Tunisia	81.7794981.8%	89.6%	74.2%	15.4%
Turkey	95.0106295%	98.4%	91.8%	6.6%
Turkmenistan	99.6929199.7%	99.8%	99.6%	0.1%
Tuvalu	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Uganda	73.863373.9%	80.8%	66.9%	14.0%
Ukraine	99.7647699.8%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
United Arab Emirates	93.8358593.8%	93.1%	95.8%	-2.6%
United Kingdom	not reported by UNESCO 2015
United States of America	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Uruguay	98.4251298.4%	98.1%	98.7%	-0.6%
Uzbekistan	99.5936699.6%	99.7%	99.5%	0.3%
Vanuatu	85.2251885.2%	86.6%	83.8%	2.8%
Venezuela	95.3624595.4%	95.0%	95.7%	-0.7%
Vietnam	94.5068394.5%	96.3%	92.8%	3.4%
Yemen	70.0740170.1%	85.1%	55.0%	30.1%
Zambia	63.3766163.4%	70.9%	56.0%	14.9%
Zimbabwe	86.5025686.5%	88.5%	84.6%	4.0%

List of other territories

Territory	Literacy rate (all)	Male literacy	Female literacy	Gender difference	Year	Notes
Aruba	97.5%	97.5%	97.5%	0.0%	2015^[3]	A constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Cayman Islands	98.9%	98.7%	99.0%	-0.3%	2007^[3]	An overseas territory of the United Kingdom.
Guadeloupe	96.5%	96.4%	96.6%	-0.2%	2015^[3]	Overseas region/department of France.
Guam	99.8%	99.8%	99.8%	0.0%	2015^[3]	The United States has sovereignty.
Kosovo	91.9%	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.
Macau	96.2%	98.0%	94.6%	3.4%	2015^[3]	A special administrative region of which China has sovereignty.
Martinique	97.0%	97.6%	96.4%	1.2%	2015^[3]	Overseas region/department of France.
New Caledonia	96.9%	97.3%	96.5%	0.8%	2015^[3]	Overseas region/department of France.
Palestine	96.7%	98.5%	94.8%	3.7%	2015^[3]	UN Observer State^[6]
Puerto Rico	93.3%	92.8%	93.8%	-1.0%	2015^[3]	The United States has sovereignty.
Réunion	93.9%	93.2%	94.5%	-1.3%	2015^[3]	Overseas region/department of France.
Taiwan	98.5%	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.

Notes

↑ The breakdown by gender is 98.4% male, 99.4% female (difference of -1.0%)
↑ CRI do not give a breakdown by gender or state the age bracket for the data
↑ The breakdown by gender is 98.7% male, 95.8% female (difference of 2.9%)
↑ The breakdown by gender is 88.9% male, 79.2% female (difference is 9.7%)

References

↑ "Literacy Statistics Metadata Information Table". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. September 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
↑ 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).
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.
1 2 3 4 5 "Country Comparison to the World of Literacy Rate". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
↑ CRI=Center Research and Information (2014). Bangladesh Education for All. CRI Publication. p. 138. ISBN 0756698596.
↑ "Non-member States". United Nations. Retrieved 12 November 2015.

External links

World Bank - Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above), for historical use.

Economic classification of countries

Three World Model

Gross domestic product (GDP)

Nominal	By country past and projected per capita per capita

Purchasing power parity (PPP)	By country future estimates per capita per capita per hour worked per person employed

Gross national income (GNI)

Wages

Wealth

Other national accounts

Human development

Digital divide

Net international investment position (NIIP)

Per capita

Literacy

Teaching literacy	Reading education in the USA Phonics Whole language Dick and Jane National Council of Teachers of English NCLB Family literacy Adolescent literacy

Defining literacy	Functional illiteracy Critical literacy

Literacy internationally	International Reading Association List of countries by literacy rate Literacy in India International Literacy Day List of Chinese administrative divisions by illiteracy rate

Major contributors to literacy	Frank Laubach Ruth Johnson Colvin Paulo Freire Griffith Jones Marie Clay James Paul Gee

Related concepts	Agricultural literacy Aliteracy Asemic writing Computer literacy Cultural literacy Data literacy Dyslexia Diaspora literacy Early literacy Ecological literacy Electracy Emergent literacy Emotional literacy Financial literacy Health literacy Information literacy Information and media literacy Literacy test Media consumption Media literacy Mental health literacy Mental literacy New literacies Numeracy Oracy Orality Oral literature Postliterate society Racial literacy Scientific literacy Statistical literacy Technological literacy Transliteracy Visual literacy Writing system

Lists of countries by population statistics

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Education and innovation	25- to 34-year-olds with a tertiary education degree Bloomberg Innovation Index Education Index Graduates in natural sciences and engineering International Innovation Index Innovation Union Scoreboard Literacy rate Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies Progress in International Reading Literacy Study Student skills Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Women's average years in school World Intellectual Property Indicators

Economic	Development aid given Foreign aid received Employment rate Irrigated land area Human Development Index by country inequality-adjusted Human Poverty Index Imports Income equality Job security Labour force Number of millionaires (US dollars) Number of billionaires (US dollars) Percentage living in poverty Public sector Sen social welfare function Unemployment rate

List of international rankings List of top international rankings by country Lists by country

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