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.

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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 worldwide 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 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.

Literacy, numeracy - Average scores and distribution of proficiency levels, by labour force status, highest level of education and age group, population aged 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories 2012.

Italy IT: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 98.848 % in 2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 98.417 % for 2001. Italy IT: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 98.417 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2011, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 98.848 % in 2011 and a record low of 96.461 % in 1981. Italy IT: 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 Italy – Table IT.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).

Iraq IQ: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 43.683 % in 2013. This records a decrease from the previous number of 74.052 % for 2000. Iraq IQ: Literacy Rate: Adult: % of People Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 58.868 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2013, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 74.052 % in 2000 and a record low of 43.683 % in 2013. Iraq IQ: 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 Iraq – Table IQ.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).

The statistic shows the degree of adult literacy in China from 1982 to 2020. In 2020, the literacy rate, which is defined as people aged 15 and above who can read and write, had reached about 97.15 percent in China.

Global literacy rates

By 2020, around 86.8 percent of the world population aged 15 years and above had been able to read and write. While in developed regions this figure ranged a lot higher, only around 67 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa was literate. Countries with the lowest literacy rates are also the most underdeveloped worldwide. According to UNESCO, literacy is a human right, especially in a fast-changing and technology-driven world. In China, the literacy rate has developed from 79 percent in 1982 to 97 percent in 2020, indicating that almost one million people per year had become literate over three decades. In India, the situation was entirely different. The second most populous country in the world displayed a literacy rate of merely 76 percent in 2022.

Literacy in China

The dramatic increase in literacy in China has a lot to do with the efficacy of numerous political, economic and educational policies. In 1982, compulsory education was written into the Chinese constitution, postulating a nine-year compulsory education funded by the government. As is shown by the graph above, there was a large gender gap in literacy rate in China as of 1982. Though this gap still existed in 2020, it was narrowed down to three percent, starting from 28 percent in 1982. Since 1990, the national education policy was directed at females, especially from poor and/or minority families. Over the past years, China has achieved gender parity in primary schooling.

However, regional literacy disparities in China should not to be overlooked. Regions with a strong economic background tend to display illiteracy rates below national average. In contrast, economically underdeveloped regions have a much larger share of people who cannot read nor write. Tibet for instance, a region where 92 percent of the population belong to an ethnic minority, showed the highest illiterate rate nationwide, with around 34 percent in 2022.

National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 2003 (NAAL:2003), is a study that is part of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy program. NAAL:2003 (https://nces.ed.gov/naal/) is a cross-sectional assessment that collected information about English literacy among American adults age 16 and older. The study was conducted using direct assessment from 19,000 adults 16 or older, in their homes and some in prisons from the 50 states and District of Columbia. Households and prison inmates were sampled in 2003. The weighted response rate was 62.1 percent for households and 88.3 percent for prison inmates. Key statistics produced from NAAL:2003 include reading skills, general literacy, relationships, demographics, and background characteristics.

Literacy, numeracy - Average scores and distribution of proficiency levels, by sex and age group, population aged 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories 2012.

In the past five decades, the global literacy rate among youths aged 15 to 24 years has grown from 77 percent in 1975 to 92.84 percent in 2023. In 1975, young men had a literacy rate of 84 percent, compared to a rate of seventy percent among women. This difference of over 14 percent in 1975 has fallen to just two percent in 2019; among the total adult population, the gap in literacy rates is over seven percent.

Cuba CU: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 99.717 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 96.353 % for 2019. Cuba CU: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 99.859 % from Dec 2002 (Median) to 2021, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 100.000 % in 2012 and a record low of 96.353 % in 2019. Cuba CU: 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 Cuba – Table CU.World Bank.WDI: Social: 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 (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;Weighted average;

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.

Literacy, numeracy - Average scores, by sex and age group, population 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories, 2012.

Argentina AR: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data was reported at 97.000 % in 2001. This records an increase from the previous number of 96.000 % for 1991. Argentina AR: Literacy Rate: Adult Female: % of Females Aged 15 and Above data is updated yearly, averaging 96.000 % from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2001, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 97.000 % in 2001 and a record low of 94.000 % in 1980. Argentina AR: 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 Argentina – Table AR.World Bank.WDI: Social: 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 (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;Weighted average;

Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) in Mali was reported at 31 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Mali - Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, 2011 (PIRLS 2011), is part of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) program. PIRLS 2011 (https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pirls/) is a cross-sectional study that provides international comparative information of the reading literacy of fourth-grade students and examines factors that may be associated with the acquisition of reading literacy in young students. The study was conducted using questionnaires and direct assessments of fourth-grade students. In the United States a total of 370 schools and 12,726 fourth-grade students participated in 2011. The final weighted student response rate was 96 percent and the final weighted school response rate was 85 percent. The overall weighted response rate was 81 percent. Key statistics produced from PIRLS 2011 are how well fourth-grade students read, how students in one country compare with students in another country, how much fourth-grade students value and enjoy reading, and internationally, how the reading habits and attitudes of students vary.

Dataset enabling organizations to benchmark their data literacy capability globally.

Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) in Ghana was reported at 80.38 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Ghana - Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) in Zambia was reported at 87.5 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Zambia - Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

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