Historical dataset showing U.K. literacy rate by year from N/A to N/A.

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 United Kingdom: Literacy rate: The latest value from is percent, unavailable from percent in . In comparison, the world average is 0.00 percent, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from to is percent. The minimum value, percent, was reached in while the maximum of percent was recorded in .

Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) in World was reported at 87.36 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - 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.

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.

The United Kingdom: Youth literacy rate, ages 15-24: The latest value from is percent, unavailable from percent in . In comparison, the world average is 0.00 percent, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from to is percent. The minimum value, percent, was reached in while the maximum of percent was recorded in .

The United Kingdom: Female literacy rate, ages 15-24: The latest value from is percent, unavailable from percent in . In comparison, the world average is 0.00 percent, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from to is percent. The minimum value, percent, was reached in while the maximum of percent was recorded in .

The Adult Literacy Survey, carried out in Great Britain in 1996, was part of an international programme of surveys known as the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS).
The aim was to profile the literacy skills of adults aged 16-65 using an internationally agreed measure. The objectives were to provide data for international comparison; to provide a profile of adult literacy in Great Britain; to provide a self-assessment of literacy skills by respondents; to collect background information to examine the link between literacy and socio-economic factors such as education, employment and income.

The United Kingdom: Male literacy rate, ages 15-24: The latest value from is percent, unavailable from percent in . In comparison, the world average is 0.00 percent, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from to is percent. The minimum value, percent, was reached in while the maximum of percent was recorded in .

As of the third quarter of 2024, nearly 50 percent of online users in the United Kingdom (UK) declined cookies on websites at least some of the time. Another 41.1 percent worried about how companies might use their online data. Furthermore, around 27 percent reported using a tool to block advertisements on the internet at least some of the time.

The share of young people aged eight to 18 years old in the United Kingdom who read on a daily basis fell to 18.7 percent in 2025. Back in 2015, the percentage who read everyday was over 40 percent.

Comprehensive dataset of 42 Literacy programs in United Kingdom as of July, 2025. Includes verified contact information (email, phone), geocoded addresses, customer ratings, reviews, business categories, and operational details. Perfect for market research, lead generation, competitive analysis, and business intelligence. Download a complimentary sample to evaluate data quality and completeness.

This is the proportion of children in the area at expected level in each of the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) within the Literacy area of the assessment. Literacy is one of the 4 specific areas of learning and covers the ELGs: Comprehension, Word reading, and Writing.

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) profile is a teacher assessment of children’s development at the end of the EYFS, specifically the end of the academic year in which a child turns 5. This is typically the summer term of reception year. The EYFSP was introduced in 2012/13.

As part of wider reforms to the EYFS, the EYFS profile was revised significantly in September 2021. Changes included revisions to all 17 ELGs across the 7 areas of learning, the removal of ‘exceeding’ assessment band, and the removal of statutory local authority moderation. It is therefore not possible to directly compare 2021/22 assessment outcomes with earlier years. The 2019/20 and 2020/21 collections were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teacher assessments cover all schools and early years providers with children registered for government-funded early years provision at the end of the EYFS. These include all state-funded schools and maintained nursery schools, children in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers, including childminders. Excludes a child who has not been assessed due to long periods of absence, for instance a prolonged illness, or arrived too late in the summer term for teacher assessment to be carried out, or for an exemption.

Local authority district data are based on matching the postcode of the school or provider to the National Statistics Postcode Lookup (NSPL). Percentages may not sum to 100.

Data is Powered by LG Inform Plus and automatically checked for new data on the 3rd of each month.

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study is an international survey of the educational achievement of the equivalent of year 5 pupils across the world organised by the IEA. A total of 49 countries participated in PIRLS 2011. The survey included an assessment of pupils' reading ability, a survey of pupils' background characteristics and attitudes towards school and learning, and a survey of their teachers including their qualifications, instructional time dedicated to various topics, and the school environment for teaching and learning. The Department owns the data collected from students in England in the most recent study 2011 and will also hold matched data files of the PIRLS data with pupils' NPD records once the contract with the national survey administrators expires.

This statistic displays the share of respondents who felt that universal education and literacy was a priority in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2017. Of the respondents surveyed, the generational group who agreed with this statement the most was the group identified as Millennials, with six percent of this group stating that universal education and literacy was a priority. The generational group who agreed least with this statement were those identified as Boomers with only three percent agreeing that it was a priority.

Developments In Literacy Trust UK Activity File

In 2025, 6.6 percent of GCSE entries in Wales were awarded the highest grade of 'A*', with a further 12.5 percent of entries being awarded an 'A', the second-highest grade. A 'C' grade was the most common individual grade level achieved by GCSE students in Wales, at 23.6 percent of all entries.

The Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) is an annual sample survey which monitors national performance in literacy and numeracy in alternate years, for school children at P4, P7 and S2. It also provides information which will inform improvements in learning and teaching and assessment at classroom level. Source agency: Scottish Government Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: The Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN)

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. The Adult Literacy Survey, carried out in Great Britain in 1996, was part of an international programme of surveys known as the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). The aim was to profile the literacy skills of adults aged 16-65 using an internationally agreed measure. The objectives were to provide data for international comparison; to provide a profile of adult literacy in Great Britain; to provide a self-assessment of literacy skills by respondents; to collect background information to examine the link between literacy and socio-economic factors such as education, employment and income. Main Topics: Distribution of literacy by socio-demographic characteristics; literacy skills and work; occupational demand for literacy; literacy in everyday life; literacy practices and literacy skills; self-assessment of literacy skills for work and everyday life; adult education and training. Standard Measures Three measures of literacy (prose, document and quantitative) were calculated using Item Response Theory (IRT) by Educational Testing Services (ETS) of Princeton, New Jersey. Multi-stage stratified random sample The sampling frame was the Postcode Address File (PAF). Postcode sectors are the primary sampling unit. Sectors were stratified by region and indicators from the 1981 Census (SEG and proportion of households with no car available). There was oversampling in Scotland and Wales. One person per household was selected by the interviewer at random using Kish grid. Face-to-face interview CAPI

Adult skills need estimates for literacy, numeracy, information communication and technology and ESOL across England Source: Department for Education and Skills (DfES): Read Write Plus Skills for Life Publisher: Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) Geographies: Ward, Local Authority District (LAD), Government Office Region (GOR), National, Learnings and Skills Council (LSC) Geographic coverage: England Time coverage: 2002/03 Type of data: Modelled data Notes: The SfL Survey was in two parts. The first was based around a 20-minute background interview and two skills assessments one for literacy and one for numeracy. On this basis respondents were assigned to one of 5 skill levels for both literacy and numeracy (Entry level 1 or below, Entry level 2, Entry level 3, Level 1, and Level 2 and above). The survey was clustered by wards within Government Office Regions and there were 8,730 interviews with adults in households aged 16-65, representing a 59% response rate of selected households. Non-response weights have been calculated for region, age and sex.