In 2020, the adult literacy rate among the population above 15 years of age in Mongolia amounted to approximately 99.2 percent, more than in any other country in the Asia-Pacific region. Comparatively, the adult literacy rate in Afghanistan amounted to approximately 37.3 percent of the population aged 15 years and above in 2021.

In 2020, China had a youth literacy rate of about 99.8 percent. In contrast, Afghanistan's youth literacy rate stood at 55.9 percent in 2021.Indicators for the literacy rateAn indicator which can be seen to affect the literacy rate is the governmental effort in investing in education. The amount of funds invested into the education sector is a factor which can determine a country’s state of education, as the amount of money being spent on education would have an impact on resources, learning environment, and teaching quality. Singapore’s student-teacher ratio in primary education is significantly lower than that of South Asian countries. For instance, Nepal had 20.3 students for every teacher in 2019. Meanwhile, Singaporean teachers only had around 14.5 students on average as of 2020. Notably, South Asia, together with sub-Saharan Africa, had a much higher illiteracy rate compared to the East Asian and Pacific region in 2022. The importance of literacyThe literacy rate indicates the percentage of people within a population who can read and write. This enables them to identify, understand and interpret materials with various contexts. Ensuring literacy for all pupils is a part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for quality education. This in turn stimulates economic and societal growth for the future.

Adult Literacy Rate for Male, Female, and Total Population by country for most recent year available. Year of data collection for each country is listed when known. Adult literacy rates are defined as the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. Data Sources: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics, via World Bank DataBank; CIA World Factbook; Country shapes from Natural Earth 50M scale data.

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.

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.

Global Adult Literacy Rate by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

This statistic depicts the countries with the lowest literacy rates worldwide as of 2012. As of that year, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Mali were the countries with the lowest percentage of literate persons among their population aged 15 years and over.

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Middle Income Countries (SEADTLITRZSMIC) from 1975 to 2023 about literacy, adult, income, and rate.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Least Developed Countries (SEADTLITRZSLDC) from 1981 to 2023 about literacy, adult, and rate.

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Developing Countries in Middle East and North Africa (SEADTLITRZSMNA) from 1972 to 2023 about North Africa, Middle East, literacy, adult, and rate.

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 in the world 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 the 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.

Global Female Adult Literacy Rate by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Global Literacy Rate Among Male Youth by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The average for 2021 based on 5 countries was 97.53 percent. The highest value was in Costa Rica: 99.46 percent and the lowest value was in Puerto Rico: 92.4 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 93.520 % in 2009. This records an increase from the previous number of 90.156 % for 2000. Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 90.156 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2009, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 93.520 % in 2009 and a record low of 83.826 % in 1979. Vietnam VN: 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 Vietnam – Table VN.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).

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 average for 2021 based on 12 countries was 98.12 percent. The highest value was in Bolivia: 99.5 percent and the lowest value was in Puerto Rico: 92.4 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Laos LA: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 49.723 % in 2011. This records a decrease from the previous number of 63.227 % for 2005. Laos LA: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 58.461 % from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2011, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 63.227 % in 2005 and a record low of 47.902 % in 1995. Laos LA: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Laos – Table LA.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).

This statistic shows the illiteracy rate in China in 2023, by region. Illiterate population refers to the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are unable to read or have difficulty in reading. In 2023, the illiteracy rate in the Chinese Yunnan province had amounted to 6.14 percent. Illiteracy in China Literacy poses the basis for all other forms of education. Literacy skills are essential for the promotion of sustainable development, both in terms of economic progress and social advance. People with good literacy skills enjoy a better living standard and have better chances in the job market. In comparison with other countries in the Asia Pacific region, literacy in China is relatively high. China’s literacy rate has increased from 66 percent in 1982 to 97.2 percent in 2020. A distinctive gap between gender literacy existed as early as 1982, but gender differences in literacy had become less significant by 2020. This change had been facilitated by education reforms in China, namely mandatory free primary school education has helped to virtually eradicate illiteracy in China. As of 2017, 100 percent of primary-school-age children in China had been enrolled in school, making it one of the countries with the highest primary school enrollment rates worldwide. Regional disparities in literacy However, regional disparities in literacy rate still persist in China. Literacy in regions with a strong economic background tends to be higher than in underdeveloped regions. The literacy rate in Tibet had been at a staggering 29 percent compared with a national average of 3.4 percent in China.