Among the states in India, Kerala had the highest literary rate with ** percent in 2011. Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and the capital territory of Delhi followed Kerala with above average literacy rates. Notably, all the leading states in the country had more literate males than females at the time of the census.

The data shows the year-wise and state or union territory-wise literacy and rural and urban literacy, for male, female, and total literacy, in India according to Census.

Note: 1. Literacy rate is defined as the population of literates in the population aged 7 year and above. 2. The 1991 data (Excluding Jammu & Kashmir)and 2001 data (Excludes figures of Paomata, Mao Maran and Pura sub-divisions of Senapati district of Manipur for 2001) refer to Census of India.

Based on the recent 2011 census in India, a large portion of the population is illiterate, just under 100 million males and up to 85 million females have finished primary school. More than 42 million males and 26 million females graduated college and studied further.

India literacy rate for 2022 was 76.32%, a 7.02% increase from 2011.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India literacy rate for 2011 was <strong>69.30%</strong>, a <strong>6.55% increase</strong> from 2006.</li>
<li>India literacy rate for 2006 was <strong>62.75%</strong>, a <strong>1.74% increase</strong> from 2001.</li>
<li>India literacy rate for 2001 was <strong>61.01%</strong>, a <strong>12.79% increase</strong> from 1991.</li>
</ul>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.

The literacy rate of the female population in the country was about 65 percent in 2011, in comparison to about 57 percent among the females in the scheduled caste population.

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.

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.

This dataset presents national-level literacy rates, compiled from multiple official sources, including the National Sample Survey (NSS), Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Population Census, National Family Health Survey (NFHS), and data published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

It provides literacy rates disaggregated by gender, region (urban and rural), and age group. The inclusion of age groups is essential, as the criteria for calculating literacy rates have changed over time. To allow consistent comparisons across sources and years, an ‘age group’ column is included in the dataset. In general, literacy is assessed based on whether a person above a specified age can read and write a simple message with understanding in at least one language. The age specified as per these sources is as follows:

Census: Population aged 7 years and above (used since 1981; previously, it was 5 years and above). Data is available for 1951, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, and 2011 NSS: Population aged 5 years and above. Data is available for 2005, 2007-08, 2010, 2011-12, 2014, and 2017-18 PLFS: Survey typically covers population aged 15 years and above, but literacy data is also available for 5 years and above and 7 years and above. Data is available for 2017-18 to 2023-24. NFHS: Covers population aged 15–49 years only. Literacy rate refers to women and men who have completed standard 6, 9, or higher, or those who can read a full or partial sentence among individuals assumed to be literate. Data is available for 2005-06, 2015-16, and 2019-21. MoSPI: Follows the NSS age criteria, usually 5 years and above. Data is available for 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2011

The statistic displays the literacy rate in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India between 1991 and 2011, broken down by gender. In 2001, 70 percent of the female population living in Andhra Pradesh knew how to read or write. India's literacy rate from 1981 through 2011 can be found here.

India Vital Statistics: Age Specific Fertility Rate: per 1000 Female Population: Educational Level of Women: Literate: Graduate and Above: Age: 35-39 data was reported at 36.400 NA in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 29.600 NA for 2015. India Vital Statistics: Age Specific Fertility Rate: per 1000 Female Population: Educational Level of Women: Literate: Graduate and Above: Age: 35-39 data is updated yearly, averaging 25.200 NA from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 36.400 NA in 2016 and a record low of 18.600 NA in 2011. India Vital Statistics: Age Specific Fertility Rate: per 1000 Female Population: Educational Level of Women: Literate: Graduate and Above: Age: 35-39 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Census of India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAH008: Vital Statistics: Age Specific Fertility Rate: by Education Level of Women.

The statistic displays the literacy rate in rural and urban regions of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India in 2011, with a breakdown by gender. In that year, the literacy rate for females living in rural areas in Andhra Pradesh was around 52 percent. India's literacy rate from 1981 through 2011 can be found here.

Analysis of ‘Education in India’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://www.kaggle.com/rajanand/education-in-india on 28 January 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

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Context

When India got independence from British in 1947 the literacy rate was 12.2% and as per the recent census 2011 it is 74.0%. Although it looks an accomplishment, still many people are there without access to education.

It would be interesting to know the current status of the Indian education system.

Content

This dataset contains district and state wise Indian primary and secondary school education data for 2015-16.

Granularity: Annual

List of files:

1. 2015_16_Districtwise.csv ( 680 observations and 819 variables )
2. 2015_16_Statewise_Elementary.csv ( 36 observations and 816 variables )
3. 2015_16_Statewise_Secondary.csv ( 36 observations and 630 variables )

Acknowledgements

Ministry of Human Resource Development (DISE) has shared the dataset here and also published some reports.

Source of Banner image.

Inspiration

This dataset provides the complete information about primary and secondary education. There are many inferences can be made from this dataset. There are few things I would like to understand from this dataset.

1. Drop out ratio in primary and secondary education. (Govt. has made law that every child under age 14 should get free compulsary education.)
2. Various factors affecting examination results of the students.
3. What are all the factors that makes the difference (in literacy rate) between Kerala and Bihar?
4. What could be done to improve the female literacy rate and literacy rate in rural area?

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If you have any question, you may contact me via an email or LinkedIn message.

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

The statistic depicts the literacy rate in the rural and urban areas of Bihar in India in 2011, by gender. In that year, the literacy rate for females living in rural areas in Bihar was just over 49 percent. India's literacy rate from 1981 through 2011 can be found here.

Documentation

Description and codebook for subset of harmonized variables:

Section 2

Guide to datasets:

Full Project Name: The Impact of Mother Literacy and Participation Programs on Child Learning in India

Unique ID: 458

PIs: Rukmini Banerji, James Berry, Marc Shotland

Location: Indian states of Bihar and Rajasthan

Sample: Around 9,000 households in 480 villages

Timeline: 2010 to 2012

Target Group: Children Parents Rural population Women and girls

Outcome of Interest: Employment, Student learning ,Women’s/girls’ decision-making, Gender attitudes and norms

Intervention Type: Early childhood development, Tracking and remedial education, Empowerment training

Associated publications: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20150390

More information: https://www.povertyactionlab.org/evaluation/impact-mother-literacy-and-participation-programs-child-learning-india

Dataverse: Banerji, Rukmini; Berry, James; Shotland, Marc, 2017, “The Impact of Maternal Literacy and Participation Programs: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in India”, https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/19PPE7, Harvard Dataverse, V1

Section 3

Survey instrument:

Testing tools:

Section 4

Survey instrument:

Testing tools:

Section 5

No associated survey instrument

Section 6

This dataset was created on 2021-10-06 20:35:41.921 by merging multiple datasets together. The source datasets for this version were:

Maternal Literacy in India Baseline: Modified from ml_merged : contains data with variables only from baseline surveys

Maternal Literacy in India Endline: Modified from ml_merged : contains data with variables only from endline surveys

Maternal Literacy in India Raw Administrative Statistics: ml_admin_stats_raw: Contains administrative statistics from the 2011 census and aser surveys used in online Appendix Table 1 in the paper; this is merged with some of the survey data to create ml_admin_stats

Literacy Rate: Kerala data was reported at 94.000 % in 12-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 90.860 % for 12-01-2001. Literacy Rate: Kerala data is updated decadal, averaging 78.850 % from Dec 1951 (Median) to 12-01-2011, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 94.000 % in 12-01-2011 and a record low of 47.180 % in 12-01-1951. Literacy Rate: Kerala 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.

The statistic displays the literacy rate in rural and urban regions of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India in 2011, with a breakdown by gender. In that year, the literacy rate among females living in rural areas in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was around 80 percent. India's literacy rate from 1981 through 2011 can be found here.

India Vital Statistics: Age Specific Fertility Rate: per 1000 Female Population: Educational Level of Women: Literate: Graduate and Above: Age: 45-49 data was reported at 2.100 NA in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.400 NA for 2015. India Vital Statistics: Age Specific Fertility Rate: per 1000 Female Population: Educational Level of Women: Literate: Graduate and Above: Age: 45-49 data is updated yearly, averaging 1.100 NA from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.400 NA in 2015 and a record low of 0.100 NA in 2011. India Vital Statistics: Age Specific Fertility Rate: per 1000 Female Population: Educational Level of Women: Literate: Graduate and Above: Age: 45-49 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Census of India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAH008: Vital Statistics: Age Specific Fertility Rate: by Education Level of Women.

Literacy Rate: Manipur data was reported at 76.900 % in 12-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 70.530 % for 12-01-2001. Literacy Rate: Manipur data is updated decadal, averaging 49.660 % from Dec 1951 (Median) to 12-01-2011, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 76.900 % in 12-01-2011 and a record low of 12.570 % in 12-01-1951. Literacy Rate: Manipur 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.

Literacy Rate: Delhi data was reported at 86.200 % in 12-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 81.670 % for 12-01-2001. Literacy Rate: Delhi data is updated decadal, averaging 73.615 % from Dec 1961 (Median) to 12-01-2011, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 86.200 % in 12-01-2011 and a record low of 61.950 % in 12-01-1961. Literacy Rate: Delhi 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.

The statistic displays the literacy rate in rural and urban regions of the state of Uttarakhand in India in 2011, with a breakdown by gender. In that year, the literacy rate among females living in rural areas in Uttarakhand was around 66 percent. India's literacy rate from 1981 through 2011 can be found here.