Despite the steady rise in literacy rates over the past 50 years, there are still 750 million illiterate adults around the world, most of whom are women. These numbers produced by the UIS are a stark reminder of the work ahead to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Target 4.6 to ensure that all youth and most adults achieve literacy and numeracy by 2030. Current literacy data are generally collected through population censuses or household surveys in which the respondent or head of the household declares whether they can read and write with understanding a short, simple statement about one's everyday life in any written language. Some surveys require respondents to take a quick test in which they are asked to read a simple passage or write a sentence, yet clearly literacy is a far more complex issue that requires more information. For the UIS, the existing dataset serves as a placeholder for a new generation of indicators being developed with countries and partners under the umbrella of the Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML). GAML is developing the methodologies needed to gather more nuanced data and the tools required for their standardisation. In particular, the Alliance is finding ways to link existing large-scale assessments to produce comparable data to monitor the literacy skills of children, youth and adults. This involves close collaboration with a wide range of partners.
Attribution 3.0 (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
License information was derived automatically
Despite the steady rise in literacy rates over the past 50 years, there are still 750 million illiterate adults around the world, most of whom are women. These numbers produced by the UIS are a stark reminder of the work ahead to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Target 4.6 to ensure that all youth and most adults achieve literacy and numeracy by 2030. Current literacy data are generally collected through population censuses or household surveys in which the respondent or head of the household declares whether they can read and write with understanding a short, simple statement about one's everyday life in any written language. Some surveys require respondents to take a quick test in which they are asked to read a simple passage or write a sentence, yet clearly literacy is a far more complex issue that requires more information. For the UIS, the existing dataset serves as a placeholder for a new generation of indicators being developed with countries and partners under the umbrella of the Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML). GAML is developing the methodologies needed to gather more nuanced data and the tools required for their standardisation. In particular, the Alliance is finding ways to link existing large-scale assessments to produce comparable data to monitor the literacy skills of children, youth and adults. This involves close collaboration with a wide range of partners.
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.
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.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Contains data from the World Bank's data portal. There is also a consolidated country dataset on HDX. Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality and lays a foundation for sustained economic growth. The World Bank compiles data on education inputs, participation, efficiency, and outcomes. Data on education are compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics from official responses to surveys and from reports provided by education authorities in each country. Indicators: Adjusted net enrollment rate, Adjusted net intake rate to Grade 1 of primary education, Adolescents out of school, Adult illiterate population, Adult literacy rate, Barro-Lee, Capital expenditure as % of total expenditure in tertiary public institutions, Children out of school, Compulsory education, Cumulative drop-out rate to the last grade of primary education, Current education expenditure, Current expenditure as % of total expenditure in public institutions, Current expenditure as % of total expenditure in tertiary public institutions, DHS, Drop-out rate from Grade 1 of primary education, Drop-out rate from Grade 2 of primary education, Drop-out rate from Grade 3 of primary education, Drop-out rate from Grade 4 of primary education, Educational attainment, Effective transition rate from primary to lower secondary general education, Enrolment in Grade 1 of lower secondary general education, Enrolment in Grade 1 of primary education, Enrolment in Grade 2 of lower secondary general education, Enrolment in Grade 2 of primary education, Enrolment in Grade 3 of lower secondary general education, Enrolment in Grade 3 of primary education, Enrolment in Grade 4 of primary education, Enrolment in Grade 5 of primary education, Enrolment in lower secondary education, Enrolment in lower secondary general, Enrolment in post-secondary non-tertiary education, Enrolment in pre-primary education, Enrolment in primary education, Enrolment in secondary education, Enrolment in secondary general, Enrolment in secondary vocational, Enrolment in tertiary education, Enrolment in upper secondary education, Enrolment in upper secondary general, Enrolment in upper secondary vocational, Expenditure on education not specified by level as % of government expenditure on education, Expenditure on primary education, Expenditure on secondary education, Expenditure on tertiary education, Government expenditure on education, Government expenditure per student, Graduates from tertiary education, Gross enrolment ratio, Gross graduation ratio from lower secondary education, Gross graduation ratio from primary education, Gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, Gross intake ratio to Grade 1 of lower secondary general education, Gross intake ratio to Grade 1 of primary education, Gross outbound enrolment ratio, Inbound mobility rate, Labor force, Literacy rate, Lower secondary completion rate, Lower secondary school starting age, Net enrolment rate, Net intake rate in grade 1, New entrants to Grade 1 of primary education, New entrants to Grade 1 of primary education with early childhood education experience, Official entrance age to compulsory education, Official entrance age to post-secondary non-tertiary education, Official entrance age to pre-primary education, Official entrance age to upper secondary education, Out-of-school adolescents of lower secondary school age, Outbound mobility ratio, Over-age students, Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in private institutions, Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in private institutions, Percentage of female teachers in lower secondary education who are trained, Percentage of graduates from tertiary education who are female, Percentage of male teachers in lower secondary education who are trained, Percentage of new entrants to Grade 1 of primary education with early childhood education experience, Percentage of repeaters in Grade 1 of lower secondary general education, Percentage of repeaters in Grade 1 of primary education, Percentage of repeaters in Grade 2 of lower secondary general education, Percentage of repeaters in Grade 2 of primary education, Percentage of repeaters in Grade 3 of lower secondary general education, Percentage of repeaters in Grade 3 of primary education, Percentage of repeaters in Grade 4 of primary education, Percentage of repeaters in Grade 5 of primary education, Percentage of repeaters in lower secondary general education, Percentage of repeaters in primary education, Percentage of students in post-secondary non-tertiary education who are female, Percentage of students in pre-primary education who are female, Percentage of students in tertiary ISCED 5 programmes who are female, Percentage of students in tertiary ISCED 6 programmes who are female, Percentage of students in tertiary ISCED 7 programmes who are female, Percentage of students in tertiary ISCED 8 programmes who are female, Percentage of students in tertiary education who are female, Percentage of teachers in lower secondary education who are female, Percentage of teachers in lower secondary education who are trained, Percentage of teachers in primary education who are trained, Percentage of teachers in upper secondary education who are female, Persistence to grade 5, Persistence to last grade of primary, Population, Population ages 0-14, Population ages 15-64, Population of the official entrance age to primary education, Preprimary education, Primary completion rate, Primary education, Primary school starting age, Progression to secondary school, Pupil-teacher ratio, Pupil-teacher ratio in lower secondary education, Pupil-teacher ratio in upper secondary education, Rate of out-of-school adolescents of lower secondary school age, Rate of out-of-school children of primary school age, Repeaters, Repeaters in Grade 1 of lower secondary general education, Repeaters in Grade 1 of primary education, Repeaters in Grade 2 of lower secondary general education, Repeaters in Grade 2 of primary education, Repeaters in Grade 3 of lower secondary general education, Repeaters in Grade 3 of primary education, Repeaters in Grade 4 of primary education, Repeaters in Grade 5 of primary education, Repeaters in lower secondary general education, Repeaters in primary education, Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, Repetition rate in Grade 2 of primary education, Repetition rate in Grade 3 of primary education, Repetition rate in Grade 4 of primary education, Repetition rate in Grade 5 of primary education, School age population, School enrollment, School life expectancy, Secondary education, Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational programmes, Share of all students in tertiary education enrolled in ISCED 5, Share of all students in tertiary education enrolled in ISCED 6, Share of all students in tertiary education enrolled in ISCED 7, Share of all students in tertiary education enrolled in ISCED 8, Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in vocational programmes, Share of female students in secondary education enrolled in vocational programmes, Share of female students in tertiary education enrolled in ISCED 7, Share of female students in tertiary education enrolled in ISCED 8, Share of male students in secondary education enrolled in vocational programmes, Share of male students in tertiary education enrolled in ISCED 7, Share of male students in tertiary education enrolled in ISCED 8, Survival rate to Grade 4 of primary education, Survival rate to Grade 5 of primary education, Survival rate to the last grade of lower secondary general education, Survival rate to the last grade of primary education, Teachers in lower secondary education, Teachers in primary education, Teachers in secondary general education, Teachers in secondary vocational education, Teachers in tertiary education programmes, Teachers in upper secondary education, Tertiary education, Theoretical duration of lower secondary education, Theoretical duration of post-secondary non-tertiary education, Theoretical duration of pre-primary education, Theoretical duration of upper secondary education, Total inbound internationally mobile students, Total net enrolment rate, Total outbound internationally mobile tertiary students studying abroad, Trained teachers in lower secondary education, Trained teachers in primary education, Unemployment, Youth illiterate population
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Ghana GH: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 71.497 % in 2010. This records an increase from the previous number of 57.897 % for 2000. Ghana GH: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 64.697 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2010, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 71.497 % in 2010 and a record low of 57.897 % in 2000. Ghana GH: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.World Bank.WDI: 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).
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
The data consists of RTs and visual world data (eye tracking data) from the study that explores how high-literate and low-literate bilinguals plan their language when interacting with interlocutors with varied L2 proficiency when presented in an interactive context.fc_lp1 - data set contains filtered eye tracking and RT data obtained from Low literate bilingualsfc_hp1 - data set contains filtered eye tracking and RT data obtained from High literate bilinguals
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 94.368 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 94.140 % for 2014. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 92.895 % from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2015, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 94.368 % in 2015 and a record low of 76.200 % in 1980. South Africa ZA: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.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).
Not seeing a result you expected?
Learn how you can add new datasets to our index.
Despite the steady rise in literacy rates over the past 50 years, there are still 750 million illiterate adults around the world, most of whom are women. These numbers produced by the UIS are a stark reminder of the work ahead to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Target 4.6 to ensure that all youth and most adults achieve literacy and numeracy by 2030. Current literacy data are generally collected through population censuses or household surveys in which the respondent or head of the household declares whether they can read and write with understanding a short, simple statement about one's everyday life in any written language. Some surveys require respondents to take a quick test in which they are asked to read a simple passage or write a sentence, yet clearly literacy is a far more complex issue that requires more information. For the UIS, the existing dataset serves as a placeholder for a new generation of indicators being developed with countries and partners under the umbrella of the Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML). GAML is developing the methodologies needed to gather more nuanced data and the tools required for their standardisation. In particular, the Alliance is finding ways to link existing large-scale assessments to produce comparable data to monitor the literacy skills of children, youth and adults. This involves close collaboration with a wide range of partners.