Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) in Saudi Arabia was reported at 98 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Saudi Arabia - Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Youth: % of People Age 15-24 data was reported at 99.222 % in 2013. This records an increase from the previous number of 95.850 % for 2004. Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Youth: % of People Age 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 95.881 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2013, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 99.222 % in 2013 and a record low of 87.856 % in 1992. Saudi Arabia SA: 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 Saudi Arabia – Table SA.World Bank: 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 male (% of males ages 15 and above) in Saudi Arabia was reported at 99 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Saudi Arabia - Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 94.426 % in 2013. This records an increase from the previous number of 82.858 % for 2004. Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 81.104 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2013, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 94.426 % in 2013 and a record low of 70.822 % in 1992. Saudi Arabia SA: 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 Saudi Arabia – Table SA.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 Saudi Arabia literacy rate by year from 1992 to 2020.

Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data was reported at 99.137 % in 2013. This records an increase from the previous number of 94.676 % for 2004. Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Youth Female: % of Females Aged 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 94.194 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2013, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 99.137 % in 2013 and a record low of 81.074 % in 1992. Saudi Arabia SA: 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 Saudi Arabia – Table SA.World Bank: 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).

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Saudi Arabia (SEADTLITRZSSAU) from 1992 to 2020 about literacy, adult, Saudi Arabia, and rate.

Saudi Arabia: Male literacy rate, ages 15-24: The latest value from 2020 is 100 percent, an increase from 99 percent in 2017. In comparison, the world average is 93.57 percent, based on data from 37 countries. Historically, the average for Saudi Arabia from 1992 to 2020 is 97.83 percent. The minimum value, 94 percent, was reached in 1992 while the maximum of 100 percent was recorded in 2020.

According to a survey on education and training in Saudi Arabia in 2017, the illiteracy rate of female youths as a percentage of total population was *** percent and *** percent for male respondents. The youth population between the age of ** to ** was the highest in Saudi Arabia in 2020 among all age groups.

Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) in Saudi Arabia was reported at 100 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Saudi Arabia - Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 96.531 % in 2013. This records an increase from the previous number of 87.532 % for 2004. Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Adult Male: % of Males Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 87.296 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2013, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 96.531 % in 2013 and a record low of 79.969 % in 1992. Saudi Arabia SA: 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 Saudi Arabia – Table SA.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).

Explore Saudi Arabia's education development indicators , including net attendance rates, literacy rates, teacher salaries, and more. Discover valuable insights and trends in education data for Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.

UIS, attendance rate, literacy rate, teacher salaries, education indicators, net enrolment rate, drop-out rate, population, schooling

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, China, India

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Note: © 2016 The World Bank Group, All Rights Reserved.Saudi Arabia education indicator related dataset from the world bank. There are over 1300 series in the dataset, we have selected those relevant to education category. Checkout other related dataset Population, Health and Employment in demographic category of our portal.Citation: "World Development Indicators| World Databank". Databank.worldbank.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Saudi Arabia: Youth literacy rate, ages 15-24: The latest value from 2020 is 99 percent, unchanged from 99 percent in 2017. In comparison, the world average is 92.76 percent, based on data from 37 countries. Historically, the average for Saudi Arabia from 1992 to 2020 is 96.17 percent. The minimum value, 88 percent, was reached in 1992 while the maximum of 99 percent was recorded in 2013.

Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 91.369 % in 2013. This records an increase from the previous number of 76.335 % for 2004. Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 72.813 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2013, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 91.369 % in 2013 and a record low of 57.278 % in 1992. Saudi Arabia SA: 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 Saudi Arabia – Table SA.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).

Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Youth Male: % of Males Aged 15-24 data was reported at 99.301 % in 2013. This records an increase from the previous number of 96.953 % for 2004. Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Youth Male: % of Males Aged 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 97.514 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2013, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 99.301 % in 2013 and a record low of 93.963 % in 1992. Saudi Arabia SA: Literacy Rate: Youth Male: % of Males Aged 15-24 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Saudi Arabia – Table SA.World Bank: 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, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) in Saudi Arabia was reported at 1 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Saudi Arabia - Ratio of young literate females to males (% ages 15-24) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Saudi Arabia SA: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Literacy Rate: Youth Aged 15-24 data was reported at 0.998 Ratio in 2013. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.977 Ratio for 2004. Saudi Arabia SA: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Literacy Rate: Youth Aged 15-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 0.966 Ratio from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2013, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.998 Ratio in 2013 and a record low of 0.863 Ratio in 1992. Saudi Arabia SA: 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 Saudi Arabia – Table SA.World Bank: 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).

The average monthly wage for female specialists in professional, technical, and humanitarian fields in Saudi Arabia in 2019 was about ** thousand Saudi riyals compared to **** thousand Saudi riyals for males employed in this field.

Saudi labour market trends 

The Saudi female labor participation rate reached a record at more than ** percent of the female population in the first half of 2020. In 2018, the majority of nurses in the country were female. The majority of the workforce is in the oil and gas industry as the economy is centered on oil and gas production. Following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many expatriate workers left the country after the tax raise.

Saudi Arabia education system development

Historically, Islamic facilities such as mosques and Kuttab supplied education to Saudi elites and wealthy families. Private institutions developed the educational system, and subsequently, high schools were established to educate pupils for university studies overseas. Literacy rates for males were as low as ** percent, and considerably lower for females because they only had access to religious instruction. Saudi Arabia's education system remains gender-segregated, with women still attending colleges and educational institutions that are just for women. On average, both genders' graduation rates are very close; the percentage of female graduates was around ** percent in 2019. Following the establishment of seven new institutions, notably Kind Saud University, in the mid-1990s, the country's tertiary education systems were diversified. By 2022, tertiary education enrolment was predicted to hit *** million. The most often mentioned educational problems by both genders were the difficulty of studying, followed by the difficulty of getting to their schools and institutions.

SA: School Enrollment: Primary: Female: % Net data was reported at 99.599 % in 2012. This records an increase from the previous number of 96.542 % for 2011. SA: School Enrollment: Primary: Female: % Net data is updated yearly, averaging 96.408 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2012, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 99.599 % in 2012 and a record low of 31.379 % in 1979. SA: School Enrollment: Primary: Female: % Net data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Saudi Arabia – Table SA.World Bank: Education Statistics. Net enrollment rate is the ratio of children of official school age who are enrolled in school to the population of the corresponding official school age. Primary education provides children with basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills along with an elementary understanding of such subjects as history, geography, natural science, social science, art, and music.; ; 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).

季节性调整后：非文盲率：成年女性：15岁及以上女性百分比在12-01-2013达91.369%，相较于12-01-2004的76.335%有所增长。季节性调整后：非文盲率：成年女性：15岁及以上女性百分比数据按年更新，12-01-1992至12-01-2013期间平均值为72.813%，共4份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-2013，达91.369%，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-1992，为57.278%。CEIC提供的季节性调整后：非文盲率：成年女性：15岁及以上女性百分比数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于World Bank，数据归类于全球数据库的沙特阿拉伯 – 表 SA.世行.WDI：教育统计。