In 2024, the literacy rate was at approximately **** percent in Vietnam. Vietnam is among the countries with the highest adult literacy rate in the Asia Pacific.

Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 95.785 % in 2009. This records an increase from the previous number of 93.933 % for 2000. Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 93.918 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2009, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 95.785 % in 2009 and a record low of 90.381 % in 1979. Vietnam VN: 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 Vietnam – Table VN.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).

Historical dataset showing Vietnam literacy rate by year from 1979 to 2022.

Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Youth: % of People Age 15-24 data was reported at 97.092 % in 2009. This records an increase from the previous number of 94.837 % for 2000. Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Youth: % of People Age 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 94.837 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2009, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 97.092 % in 2009 and a record low of 93.734 % in 1989. Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Youth: % of People Age 15-24 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. 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; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) in Vietnam was reported at 96.13 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Vietnam - Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

Actual value and historical data chart for Vietnam Literacy Rate Adult Male Percent Of Males Ages 15 And Above

Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data was reported at 96.781 % in 2009. This records an increase from the previous number of 94.056 % for 2000. Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 94.023 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2009, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 96.781 % in 2009 and a record low of 93.402 % in 1989. Vietnam VN: 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 Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank.WDI: 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; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes (%) in Vietnam was reported at 85.84 % in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Vietnam - Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

Yearly (annual) dataset of the Vietnam Adult Literacy Rate, including historical data, latest releases, and long-term trends from 1979-12-31 to 2022-12-31. Available for free download in CSV format.

Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 91.379 % in 2009. This records an increase from the previous number of 86.610 % for 2000. Vietnam VN: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 86.610 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2009, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 91.379 % in 2009 and a record low of 78.140 % in 1979. Vietnam VN: 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 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).

Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) in Vietnam was reported at 98.96 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Vietnam - Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

View yearly updates and historical trends for Viet Nam Adult Literacy Rate. from Vietnam. Source: World Bank. Track economic data with YCharts analytics.

Actual value and historical data chart for Vietnam Ratio Of Young Literate Females To Males Percent Ages 15 24

Dataset

This dataset was created by Đặng Hoàng Long

Released under CC0: Public Domain

Contents

Vietnam VN: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Literacy Rate: Youth Aged 15-24 data was reported at 0.994 Ratio in 2009. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.984 Ratio for 2000. Vietnam VN: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Literacy Rate: Youth Aged 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 0.993 Ratio from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2009, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.994 Ratio in 1999 and a record low of 0.978 Ratio in 1979. Vietnam VN: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Literacy Rate: Youth Aged 15-24 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. Gender parity index for youth literacy rate is the ratio of females to males ages 15-24 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).

Actual value and historical data chart for Vietnam Elderly Literacy Rate Population 65 Years Male Percent

According to a survey conducted among Vietnamese consumers in 2023, the majority of respondents said that the time they spent on reading has either greatly or somewhat increased, as stated by ** percent and ** percent of respondents respectively. Meanwhile, around *** percent of survey respondents reported greatly reducing their reading time.

The ranking shows the percentage of literate population in each country among citizens over the age of 15. A person is considered literate if they have mastered written language, meaning they can read and write.

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%) in Vietnam was reported at 80.31 % in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Vietnam - Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Abstract

The STEP (Skills Toward Employment and Productivity) Measurement program is the first ever initiative to generate internationally comparable data on skills available in developing countries. The program implements standardized surveys to gather information on the supply and distribution of skills and the demand for skills in labor market of low-income countries.

The uniquely-designed Household Survey includes modules that measure the cognitive skills (reading, writing and numeracy), socio-emotional skills (personality, behavior and preferences) and job-specific skills (subset of transversal skills with direct job relevance) of a representative sample of adults aged 15 to 64 living in urban areas, whether they work or not. The cognitive skills module also incorporates a direct assessment of reading literacy based on the Survey of Adults Skills instruments. Modules also gather information about family, health and language.

Geographic coverage

The survey covers the urban area of two largest cities of Vietnam, Ha Noi and HCMCT.

Analysis unit

The units of analysis are the individual respondents and households. A household roster is undertaken at the start of the survey and the individual respondent is randomly selected among all household members aged 15 to 64 included. The random selection process was designed by the STEP team and compliance with the procedure is carefully monitored during fieldwork.

Universe

The STEP target population is the population aged 15 to 64 included, living in urban areas, as defined by each country's statistical office. In Vietnam, the target population comprised all people from 15-64 years old living in urban areas in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCM).

The reasons for selection of these two cities include :

(i) They are two biggest cities of Vietnam, so they would have all urban characteristics needed for STEP study, and (ii) It is less costly to conduct STEP survey in these to cities, compared to all urban areas of Vietnam, given limitation of survey budget.

• The target population is not representative for the national urban population.

The following are excluded from the sample:

• Residents of institutions (prisons, hospitals, etc)
• Residents of senior homes and hospices
• Residents of other group dwellings such as college dormitories, halfway homes, workers' quarters, etc
• Persons living outside the country at the time of data collection

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

• The sample of 3405 households was selected from 227 urban Enumeration Areas (EAs) in Ha Noi (107 EAs) and Ho Chi Minh City (120 EAs). From each EA 15 households were selected, so the number of households selected in Ha Noi was 1245 HHs, and in HCM, 2160 HHs.
• The 2009 Population and Housing Census was used as a sample frame.
• Regarding PSUs (EAs), the sampling frame is the list of 15% of total EAs of the 2009 Population Census. Data items on the frame for PSU include provincecode, districtcode, commune code, and EA code; address of EA, number of households.
• Regarding ultimate sampling units (households), sampling frame is a list of (100) households in each EA. Data items on the frame for ultimate sampling units (households) include names of heads of households.

The sample frame includes the list of urban EAs and the count of households for each EA. Changes of the EAs list and household list would impact on coverage of sample frame. In a recent review of Ha Noi, there were only 3 EAs either new or destroyed from 140 randomly selected Eas (2%). GSO would increase the coverage of sample frame (>95% as standard) by updating the household list of the selected Eas before selecting households for STEP.

A detailed description of the sample design is available in section 4 of the NSDPR provided with the metadata. On completion of the household listing operation, GSO will deliver to the World Bank a copy of the lists, and an Excel spreadsheet with the total number of households listed in each of the 227 visited PSUs.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The STEP survey instruments include: (i) a Background Questionnaire developed by the WB STEP team (ii) a Reading Literacy Assessment developed by Educational Testing Services (ETS).

All countries adapted and translated both instruments following the STEP Technical Standards: 2 independent translators adapted and translated the Background Questionnaire and Reading Literacy Assessment, while reconciliation was carried out by a third translator. The WB STEP team and ETS collaborated closely with the survey firms during the process and reviewed the adaptation and translation to Vietnamese (using a back translation). - The survey instruments were both piloted as part of the survey pretest. - The adapted Background Questionnaires are provided in English as external resources. The Reading Literacy Assessment is protected by copyright and will not be published.

Cleaning operations

STEP Data Management Process 1. Raw data is sent by the survey firm 2. The WB STEP team runs data checks on the Background Questionnaire data. - ETS runs data checks on the Reading Literacy Assessment data. - Comments and questions are sent back to the survey firm. 3. The survey firm reviews comments and questions. When a data entry error is identified, the survey firm corrects the data. 4. The WB STEP team and ETS check the data files are clean. This might require additional iterations with the survey firm. 5. Once the data has been checked and cleaned, the WB STEP team computes the weights. Weights are computed by the STEP team to ensure consistency across sampling methodologies. 6. ETS scales the Reading Literacy Assessment data. 7. The WB STEP team merges the Background Questionnaire data with the Reading Literacy Assessment data and computes derived variables.

Detailed information data processing in STEP surveys is provided in the 'Guidelines for STEP Data Entry Programs' document provided as an external resource. The template do-file used by the STEP team to check the raw background questionnaire data is provided as an external resource.

Response rate

The response rate for Vietnam (urban) was 62%. (See STEP Methodology Note Table 4).

Sampling error estimates

A weighting documentation was prepared for each participating country and provides some information on sampling errors. All country weighting documentations are provided as an external resource.