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.

Between 2018 and 2022, Seychelles was the country with the highest adult literacy rate in Africa, at around 96 percent. São Tomé and Príncipe and Namibia followed with a literacy rate of approximately 94 percent and 92 percent, respectively. The average rate on the continent stood at roughly 67 percent. Moreover, Southern Africa had the highest literacy levels among African regions.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

In 2021, India had a rank of 73 out of 120 countries for internet literacy. Internet literacy, according to research, assessed the level of education and preparedness to use the internet. In terms of sub-indices, web accessibility ranked highest.

The positions of Russia in the PISA global ranking of countries by literacy of 15-year-old students decreased in 2018 for all three categories under consideration compared to 2015. While in 2015, the country ranked 23rd by mathematical skills among 70 participating countries, in 2018, it received the 30th place among 79 countries. The number of score points received for each subject also decreased between 2015 and 2018.

Literacy in India has been increasing as more and more people receive a better education, but it is still far from all-encompassing. In 2022, the degree of literacy in India was about 76.32 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.

In 2023, 67.97 percent of people aged 15 years and above in Africa were able to read and write a simple statement and understand it. Regionally, Southern Africa presented the highest literacy rate, at around 80 percent. North and East Africa had similar shares of literate people, at over 71 percent. In contrast, 67.5 percent and 54 percent of the adult population in Central and West Africa could read and write.

The highest literacy rates in Nigeria were registered in the southern regions of the country. In the South West, 89 percent of males and 80.6 percent of females were literate as of 2018. Also, the south zones showed the lowest percentage differences between male and female literacy. Female literacy rate in Nigeria is among the highest in West Africa. The highest female literacy rates were registered in Cabo Verde and Ghana, while Nigeria ranked third.

A September 2020 survey conducted among young people across ASEAN countries revealed that around 75 percent of Singaporean respondents had a positive opinion of their digital learning experience at school. In comparison, roughly one-third of respondents in Myanmar had evaluated the quality of digital learning as below average.

In 2022, Zimbabwe was ranked as the most miserable country in the world with a misery index score of 414.7. Venezuela ranked second with an index score of 330.8.

Quality of life around the world The misery index was created by the economist Arthur Okun in the 1960s. The index is calculated by adding the unemployment rate, the lending rate and the inflation rate minus percent change of GDP per capita.

Another famous tool used for the comparison of development of countries around the world is the Human Development Index, which takes into account such factors as life expectancy at birth, literacy rate, education level and gross national income (GNI) per capita.

Better economic conditions correlate with higher quality of life

Economic conditions affect the life expectancy, which is much higher in the wealthiest regions. With a life expectancy of 85 years, Japan led the ranking of countries with the highest life expectancy in 2020. On the other hand, Lesotho was the country with the lowest life expectancy, where men were expected to live 50 years as of 2022.

The Global Liveability Index ranks the quality of life in cities around the world, basing on political, social, economic and environmental aspects, such as personal safety and health, education and transport services and other public services. In 2022, Vienna was ranked as the city with the highest quality of life worldwide.

In 2023, the literacy rate was at approximately 96.6 percent in Vietnam. Vietnam is among the countries with the highest adult literacy rate in the Asia Pacific.

When asked about "Attitudes towards the internet", most Polish respondents pick "It is important to me to have mobile internet access in any place at any time" as an answer. 63 percent did so in our online survey in 2024. Looking to gain valuable insights about users of internet providers worldwide? Check out our

When asked about "Attitudes towards the internet", most Italian respondents pick "It is important to me to have mobile internet access in any place at any time" as an answer. 52 percent did so in our online survey in 2024. Looking to gain valuable insights about users of internet providers worldwide? Check out our

Singapore scored 631 out of a maximum of 800 points in the English Proficiency Index 2022, the highest score across the selected Asian countries and territories. In contrast, Thailand reached an English Proficiency Index score of 416 that year.

Among the states in India, Kerala had the highest literary rate with 94 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.

In 2024, Indonesia's financial literacy index was around 65.43 percent. Although the index has been increasing since 2013, the national financial literacy index was still considerably low and indicates that there was still a substantial portion of the population who does not understand financial service providers, their products, features, advantages, and risks, which hinders the development of Open Finances. This index consists of a survey to assess the level of knowledge, skills, confidence, attitudes, and behavior related to financial services and products.