In the past five decades, the global literacy rate among adults has grown from 67 percent in 1976 to 87.36 percent in 2023. In 1976, males had a literacy rate of 76 percent, compared to a rate of 58 percent among females. This difference of over 17 percent in 1976 has fallen to just seven percent in 2020. Although gaps in literacy rates have fallen across all regions in recent decades, significant disparities remain across much of South Asia and Africa, while the difference is below one percent in Europe and the Americas. Reasons for these differences are rooted in economic and cultural differences across the globe. In poorer societies, families with limited means are often more likely to invest in their sons' education, while their daughters take up a more domestic role. Varieties do exist on national levels, however, and female literacy levels can sometimes exceed the male rate even in impoverished nations, such as Lesotho (where the difference was over 17 percent in 2014); nonetheless, these are exceptions to the norm.

There is a gender gap in the global literacy rate. Although literacy rates have generally increased worldwide for both men and women, men are on average more literate than women. As of 2023, about 90.6 percent of men and a little less than 84.1 percent of women worldwide were literate. Adult literacy rate is defined as the percentage of people aged 15 years and above who can both read and write with understanding a short, simple statement about their everyday life. Youth literacy rate Not only does the literacy gender gap concern adults, it also exists among the world’s younger generations aged 15 to 24. Despite an overall increase in literacy, young men are still more literate than young women. In fact, the global youth literacy rate as gender parity index was 0.98 as of 2023, indicating that young women are not yet as literate as young men. Gender pay gap Gender gaps occur in many different spheres of global society. One such issue concerns salary gender gaps in professional life. Regarding the controlled gender pay gap, which measures the median salary for men and women with the same job and qualifications, women still earned less than men as of 2024. The difference was even bigger when measuring the median salary for all men and women. However, not everyone worries about gender pay gaps. According to a survey from 2021, 54 percent of the female respondents deemed the gender pay gap a real problem, compared to 45 percent of the male respondents.

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Literacy in India has been increasing as more and more people receive a better education, but it is still far from all-encompassing. In 2023, the degree of literacy in India was about 77 percent, with the majority of literate Indians being men. It is estimated that the global literacy rate for people aged 15 and above is about 86 percent. How to read a literacy rateIn order to identify potential for intellectual and educational progress, the literacy rate of a country covers the level of education and skills acquired by a country’s inhabitants. Literacy is an important indicator of a country’s economic progress and the standard of living – it shows how many people have access to education. However, the standards to measure literacy cannot be universally applied. Measures to identify and define illiterate and literate inhabitants vary from country to country: In some, illiteracy is equated with no schooling at all, for example. Writings on the wallGlobally speaking, more men are able to read and write than women, and this disparity is also reflected in the literacy rate in India – with scarcity of schools and education in rural areas being one factor, and poverty another. Especially in rural areas, women and girls are often not given proper access to formal education, and even if they are, many drop out. Today, India is already being surpassed in this area by other emerging economies, like Brazil, China, and even by most other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. To catch up, India now has to offer more educational programs to its rural population, not only on how to read and write, but also on traditional gender roles and rights.

Pupils from the Chinese ethnic group were most likely to meet both the expected and higher standards in reading, writing and maths in 2018/19.

The average for 2021 based on 58 countries was 92.58 percent. The highest value was in Romania: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 42 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Literacy, numeracy - Average scores, by sex and age group, population 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories, 2012.

In the past five decades, the global literacy rate among youths aged 15 to 24 years has grown from 77 percent in 1975 to 92.84 percent in 2023. In 1975, young men had a literacy rate of 84 percent, compared to a rate of seventy percent among women. This difference of over 14 percent in 1975 has fallen to just two percent in 2019; among the total adult population, the gap in literacy rates is over seven percent.

The average for 2021 based on 13 countries was 86.52 percent. The highest value was in Uzbekistan: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 37 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The National Reporting System for Adult Education, 2009-10 (NRS 2009-10), is part of the Adult Education and Family Literacy program; program data is available since 1997 at . NRS 2009-10 (http://www.nrsweb.org) is a cross-sectional study that was designed to monitor performance accountability for the federally funded, state-administered adult education program. States were required to submit their progress in adult education and literacy activities by reporting data on core indicators of outcomes on all adult learners who receive 12 or more hours of service as well as state expenditures on the adult education program. States could also report on additional, optional secondary measures that included outcomes related to employment, family, and community. The study was conducted using a web-based reporting system of states. NRS 2009-10 is a universe survey, and all states submitted data. Key statistics produced from the study include student demographics, reasons for attending the program, receipt of secondary school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate, placement in postsecondary education or training, educational gain, and employment placement and retention.

Literacy, numeracy - Average scores and distribution of proficiency levels, by labour force status, highest level of education and age group, population aged 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories 2012.

Cameroon CM: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data was reported at 83.830 % in 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 76.395 % for 2018. Cameroon CM: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 76.197 % from Dec 1976 (Median) to 2020, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 100.000 % in 2014 and a record low of 59.000 % in 1976. Cameroon CM: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Cameroon – Table CM.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;Weighted average;

Illiteracy Rate: 10 Years and Above data was reported at 20.100 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 23.700 % for 2015. Illiteracy Rate: 10 Years and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 26.300 % from Jun 1997 (Median) to 2016, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 39.400 % in 1997 and a record low of 20.100 % in 2016. Illiteracy Rate: 10 Years and Above data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Bank of Egypt. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Egypt – Table EG.G021: Education Statistics.

Adult literacy rate of Azerbaijan remained stable at 100.00 % over the last 10 years. Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life.

The statistic shows the degree of adult literacy in China from 1982 to 2020. In 2020, the literacy rate, which is defined as people aged 15 and above who can read and write, had reached about 97.15 percent in China.

Global literacy rates

By 2020, around 86.8 percent of the world population aged 15 years and above had been able to read and write. While in developed regions this figure ranged a lot higher, only around 67 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa was literate. Countries with the lowest literacy rates are also the most underdeveloped worldwide. According to UNESCO, literacy is a human right, especially in a fast-changing and technology-driven world. In China, the literacy rate has developed from 79 percent in 1982 to 97 percent in 2020, indicating that almost one million people per year had become literate over three decades. In India, the situation was entirely different. The second most populous country in the world displayed a literacy rate of merely 76 percent in 2022.

Literacy in China

The dramatic increase in literacy in China has a lot to do with the efficacy of numerous political, economic and educational policies. In 1982, compulsory education was written into the Chinese constitution, postulating a nine-year compulsory education funded by the government. As is shown by the graph above, there was a large gender gap in literacy rate in China as of 1982. Though this gap still existed in 2020, it was narrowed down to three percent, starting from 28 percent in 1982. Since 1990, the national education policy was directed at females, especially from poor and/or minority families. Over the past years, China has achieved gender parity in primary schooling.

However, regional literacy disparities in China should not to be overlooked. Regions with a strong economic background tend to display illiteracy rates below national average. In contrast, economically underdeveloped regions have a much larger share of people who cannot read nor write. Tibet for instance, a region where 92 percent of the population belong to an ethnic minority, showed the highest illiterate rate nationwide, with around 34 percent in 2022.

Literacy Rate: Tamil Nadu data was reported at 80.100 % in 12-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 73.450 % for 12-01-2001. Literacy Rate: Tamil Nadu data is updated decadal, averaging 58.525 % from Dec 1961 (Median) to 12-01-2011, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 80.100 % in 12-01-2011 and a record low of 36.390 % in 12-01-1961. Literacy Rate: Tamil Nadu data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Education Sector – Table IN.EDA001: Literacy Rate.

Knowledge and quantification of the population and families resident in the Basque Country requires diverse statistical sources. On the one hand, ten-yearly recounts of the population and families are made through the Population and Housing Census, as well as by the Population and Housing Statistics (EPV) in inter-census periods; on the other hand, the municipal demographic information is renewed through the Municipal population update (APM) and using the administrative records of Municipal Register of Inhabitants as the main sources of information.

Literacy, numeracy - Average scores and distribution of proficiency levels, by sex and age group, population aged 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories 2012.

Peru PE: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 97.188 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 97.106 % for 2015. Peru PE: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 94.541 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2016, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 97.188 % in 2016 and a record low of 90.144 % in 1981. Peru PE: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Peru – Table PE.World Bank: Education Statistics. 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.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

Estimated average scores of 15-year-old students, reading, mathematics and science, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Canada, provinces and participating countries, Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC). This table is included in Section C: Elementary-secondary education: Student achievement of the Pan Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP). PCEIP draws from a wide variety of data sources to provide information on the school-age population, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, transitions, education finance and labour market outcomes. The program presents indicators for all of Canada, the provinces, the territories, as well as selected international comparisons and comparisons over time. PCEIP is an ongoing initiative of the Canadian Education Statistics Council, a partnership between Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada that provides a set of statistical measures on education systems in Canada.