Adult literacy rate

29 countries, 2024. Unit: % of people aged 15+.

First in the ranking
99.7 %
Georgia
Median country
94.0 %
half above, half below
World
87.7 %
World Bank aggregate
Range
35.6 to 99.7
Mali - Georgia

How to read it

Across 29 countries worldwide, the highest value is in Georgia (99.7 %) and the lowest in Mali (35.6 %).

The median country is at 94.0 %: half are above, half below.

For the world as a whole, the value rose from 76.9 % in 1995 to 87.7 % in 2024.

Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.

Compare selected countries · on the world map

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through… · via World Bank WDI (SE.ADT.LITR.ZS) · licence

Literacy over time

%

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Ranking of countries

2024
In chart Continent Share of the highest value
1Georgia99.7Asia
2Uruguay98.9South America
3United Arab Emirates98.8Asia
4Mongolia98.6Asia
5Palestine97.9Asia
6Saudi Arabia97.9Asia
7Bahrain97.8Asia
8Bolivia96.7South America
9Panama96.2North America
10Mexico95.6North America
11Colombia95.3South America
12Paraguay94.9South America
13Brazil94.7South America
14Jordan94.4Asia
15Dominican Republic94.0North America
16Peru93.7South America
17Ecuador93.5South America
18Sri Lanka92.7Asia
19South Africa91.2Africa
20Lesotho90.5Africa
21El Salvador89.8North America
22Cabo Verde88.5Africa
23Honduras88.3North America
24Guatemala82.1North America
25India78.2Asia
26Uganda77.0Africa
27Zambia71.8Africa
28Nigeria70.4Africa
29Mali35.6Africa
World Bank, WDI · SE.ADT.LITR.ZS · 2024 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

Biggest changes, 2014-2024

change in percentage points · 16 countries

Largest increase

  1. Uganda 68.5 → 77.0 +8.5 pp
  2. Brazil 91.7 → 94.7 +3.0 pp
  3. El Salvador 87.4 → 89.8 +2.4 pp
  4. Dominican Republic 91.8 → 94.0 +2.3 pp
  5. Palestine 96.2 → 97.9 +1.7 pp

Largest decrease

  1. South Africa 94.1 → 91.2 −3.0 pp
  2. Ecuador 94.2 → 93.5 −0.7 pp
  3. Paraguay 95.0 → 94.9 −0.2 pp
  4. Peru 93.7 → 93.7 −0.1 pp
  5. Georgia 99.6 → 99.7 +0.1 pp

By continent

median country
Africa 77.0 %
Asia 97.9 %
North America 91.9 %
South America 94.9 %

Tick a country in the table to add it to the chart above, up to six at a time. The ranking uses the latest year for which at least half of the countries have a value; countries without a value that year are not listed.