The average for 2021 based on 11 countries was 98.77 percent. The highest value was in Latvia: 99.89 percent and the lowest value was in Malta: 94.94 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for the Euro Area (SEADTLITRZSEMU) from 1988 to 2016 about literacy, adult, Euro Area, Europe, and rate.

The focus of this domain is on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) countries on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean (ENP-South), namely:

• Algeria (DZ),
• Egypt (EG),
• Israel (IL),
• Jordan (JO),
• Lebanon (LB),
• Libya (LY),
• Morocco (MA),
• Palestine (PS) (¹),
• Syria (SY) and
• Tunisia (TN).

An extensive range of indicators is presented in this domain, including indicators from almost every theme covered by European statistics. Only annual data are published in this domain.

The data and their denomination in no way constitute the expression of an opinion by the European Commission on the legal status of a country or territory or on the delimitation of its borders.

Data supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authorities of each of the countries or territories.

(¹) This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.

The average for 2021 based on 11 countries was 99.53 percent. The highest value was in Romania: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Bulgaria: 98.27 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

In 2024, the illiteracy rate among adults aged 15 years and older was almost 32 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. In South Asia, the illiteracy rate was 21.77 percent. The adult illiteracy rate is defined as the percentage of the population aged 15 and older who cannot read or write. Even though illiteracy continues to persist around the world, illiteracy levels have been reduced significantly over the past decades.

Historical dataset showing European Union literacy rate by year from N/A to N/A.

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Central Europe and the Baltics (SEADTLITRZSCEB) from 1981 to 2024 about Central Europe, Baltics, literacy, adult, Europe, and rate.

This dataset provides values for LITERACY RATE ADULT TOTAL PERCENT OF PEOPLE AGES 15 AND ABOVE WB DATA.HTML reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

When asked about "Attitudes towards the internet", most German respondents pick "It is important to me to have mobile internet access in any place" as an answer. 49 percent did so in our online survey in 2025. Looking to gain valuable insights about users of internet providers worldwide? Check out our reports on consumers who use internet providers. These reports give readers a thorough picture of these customers, including their identities, preferences, opinions, and methods of communication.

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total: All Income Levels for Europe and Central Asia (SEADTLITRZSECS) from 1994 to 2023 about Central Asia, literacy, adult, Europe, income, and rate.

Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Developing Countries in Europe and Central Asia was 99.32569 % of People Ages 15 and Above in January of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Developing Countries in Europe and Central Asia reached a record high of 99.32569 in January of 2022 and a record low of 93.99758 in January of 1983. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Developing Countries in Europe and Central Asia - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

When asked about "Attitudes towards the internet", most Italian respondents pick "It is important to me to have mobile internet access in any place" as an answer. 52 percent did so in our online survey in 2025. Looking to gain valuable insights about users of internet providers worldwide? Check out our reports on consumers who use internet providers. These reports give readers a thorough picture of these customers, including their identities, preferences, opinions, and methods of communication.

This statistic depicts literacy rates worldwide as of 2012, by WHO region. As of that year, it was estimated that some 64 percent of the Afrcian population aged 15 years and over were literate. In comparison, there were 99 percent literate persons in Europe.

When asked about "Attitudes towards the internet", most Polish respondents pick "It is important to me to have mobile internet access in any place" as an answer. 59 percent did so in our online survey in 2025. Looking to gain valuable insights about users of internet providers worldwide? Check out our reports on consumers who use internet providers. These reports give readers a thorough picture of these customers, including their identities, preferences, opinions, and methods of communication.

As of the third quarter of 2024, nearly 50 percent of online users in the United Kingdom (UK) declined cookies on websites at least some of the time. Another 41.1 percent worried about how companies might use their online data. Furthermore, around 27 percent reported using a tool to block advertisements on the internet at least some of the time.

This statistic depicts the average general health literacy in the European Union in 2015. The results indicate that 36 percent of the population demonstrated sufficient general health literacy, whereas it was found that the general health literacy of 35 percent of the population was problematic.

The statistic depicts the literacy rate in Mexico from 2008 to 2020. The literacy rate measures the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can read and write. In 2020, Mexico's literacy rate was around 95.25 percent. The source does not provide data for 2019.Education in MexicoThe literacy rate is commonly defined as the share of people in a country who are older than 15 years and are able to read and write. In Mexico, a state with more than 115 million inhabitants, the literacy rate is above 90 percent, making it significantly higher than the global average. More than 70 percent of Mexico’s population is older than 15 years, a figure than has been quite consistent over the last ten years. Mexico’s compulsory education comprises grades 1 to 9, with an optional secondary education up to grade 12. Literacy is considered basic education. The lowest literacy rates can be found in African countries, the highest in Europe. Additionally, the literacy rate is one of the factors that determines a country’s ranking on the Human Development Index of the United Nations, which ranks the overall well-being of a country’s population. Apart from literacy, it also includes factors such as per-capita income, health and life expectancy and others. Mexico is currently not among the countries with the highest Human Development Index value.

This indicator measures the share of people aged 16 to 74 who have at least basic digital skills. It is a composite indicator based on selected activities performed by individuals on the internet in specific areas: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety and problem solving. The indicator assesses digital skills classified into six levels, of which the two highest constitute the basic or above basic level of digital skills. The indicator is based on data from the EU survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals.

The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) collects timely and comparable multidimensional microdata on income, poverty, social exclusion and living conditions.

The EU-SILC collection is a key instrument for providing information required by the European Semester (_[1]) and the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the main source of data for microsimulation purposes and flash estimates of income distribution and poverty rates.

AROPE remains crucial to monitor European social policies, especially to monitor the EU 2030 target on poverty and social exclusion. For more information, please consult EU social indicators.

The EU-SILC instrument provides two types of data:

• Cross-sectional data pertaining to a given time or a certain time period with variables on income, poverty, social exclusion and other living conditions.
• Longitudinal data pertaining to individual-level changes over time, observed periodically over four‐or more year rotation scheme (Annex III (2) of 2019/1700).

EU-SILC collects:

• annual variables,
• three-yearly modules,
• six-yearly modules,
• ad-hoc new policy needs modules,
• optional variables.

The variables collected are grouped by topic and detailed topic and transmitted to Eurostat in four main files (D-File, H-File, R-File and P-file).

The domain ‘Income and Living Conditions’ covers the following topics: persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion, income inequality, income distribution and monetary poverty, living conditions, material deprivation, and EU-SILC ad-hoc modules, which are structured into collections of indicators on specific topics.

In 2023, in addition to annual data, in EU-SILC were collected: the three yearly module on labour market and housing, the six yearly module on intergenerational transmission of advantages and disadvantages, housing difficulties, and the ad hoc subject on households energy efficiency.

Starting from 2021 onwards, the EU quality reports use the structure of the Single Integrated Metadata Structure (SIMS).

_{([1]) The European Semester is the European Union’s framework for the coordination and surveillance of economic and social policies.}