United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Other Small States was 86.25975 % of People Ages 15 and Above in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Other Small States reached a record high of 86.25975 in January of 2023 and a record low of 71.82288 in January of 1983. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Other Small States - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on May 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 in the world 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 the 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.

World literacy rate for 2023 was 87.36%, a 0.2% increase from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>World literacy rate for 2022 was <strong>87.16%</strong>, a <strong>0.23% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>World literacy rate for 2021 was <strong>86.93%</strong>, a <strong>0.18% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>World literacy rate for 2020 was <strong>86.75%</strong>, a <strong>0.2% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>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 USA: 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 USA from to is percent. The minimum value, percent, was reached in while the maximum of percent was recorded in .

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.

United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Lower Middle Income Countries was 77.63182 % of People Ages 15 and Above in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Lower Middle Income Countries reached a record high of 77.63182 in January of 2023 and a record low of 47.38413 in January of 1975. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Lower Middle Income Countries - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Mexico literacy rate for 2020 was 95.25%, a 0.13% decline from 2018.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Mexico literacy rate for 2018 was <strong>95.38%</strong>, a <strong>0.41% increase</strong> from 2017.</li>
<li>Mexico literacy rate for 2017 was <strong>94.97%</strong>, a <strong>0.11% increase</strong> from 2016.</li>
<li>Mexico literacy rate for 2016 was <strong>94.86%</strong>, a <strong>0.39% increase</strong> from 2015.</li>
</ul>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 average for 2021 based on 3 countries was 94.81 percent. The highest value was in Costa Rica: 98.04 percent and the lowest value was in Puerto Rico: 92.4 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Low Income Countries (SEADTLITRZSLIC) from 1988 to 2023 about literacy, adult, income, and rate.

UAE literacy rate for 2022 was 98.29%, a 0.16% increase from 2021.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>UAE literacy rate for 2021 was <strong>98.13%</strong>, a <strong>0.34% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>UAE literacy rate for 2019 was <strong>97.78%</strong>, a <strong>7.75% increase</strong> from 2005.</li>
<li>UAE literacy rate for 2005 was <strong>90.03%</strong>, a <strong>18.8% increase</strong> from 1985.</li>
</ul>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.

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United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Least Developed Countries was 67.71457 % of People Ages 15 and Above in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Least Developed Countries reached a record high of 67.71457 in January of 2023 and a record low of 40.17880 in January of 1981. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Least Developed Countries - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

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.

India literacy rate for 2022 was 76.32%, a 7.02% increase from 2011.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India literacy rate for 2011 was <strong>69.30%</strong>, a <strong>6.55% increase</strong> from 2006.</li>
<li>India literacy rate for 2006 was <strong>62.75%</strong>, a <strong>1.74% increase</strong> from 2001.</li>
<li>India literacy rate for 2001 was <strong>61.01%</strong>, a <strong>12.79% increase</strong> from 1991.</li>
</ul>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.

OECD members literacy rate for 2021 was 97.11%, a 0.06% increase from 2020.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>OECD members literacy rate for 2020 was <strong>97.05%</strong>, a <strong>97.05% increase</strong> from .</li>
<li>OECD members literacy rate for was <strong>0.00%</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from .</li>
<li>OECD members literacy rate for was <strong>0.00%</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from .</li>
</ul>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.

United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for the Arab World was 76.15426 % of People Ages 15 and Above in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for the Arab World reached a record high of 76.15426 in January of 2023 and a record low of 44.90297 in January of 1977. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Literacy Rate, Adult Total for the Arab World - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Low and Middle Income Countries was 85.17915 % of People Ages 15 and Above in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Low and Middle Income Countries reached a record high of 85.17915 in January of 2023 and a record low of 59.01323 in January of 1975. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Low and Middle Income Countries - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

The average for 2021 based on 5 countries was 97.53 percent. The highest value was in Costa Rica: 99.46 percent and the lowest value was in Puerto Rico: 92.4 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Graph and download economic data for Literacy Rate, Adult Total for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean (SEADTLITRZSLAC) from 1974 to 2023 about Caribbean Economies, Latin America, literacy, adult, and rate.

The average for 2021 based on 13 countries was 86.52 percent. The highest value was in Uzbekistan: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 37 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.