Literacy Rates
Literacy Rate by Country 2026
World
87.74%
0.19%
Global Average The global literacy rate reflects the share of adults who can read and write, though definitions and measurement methods vary by country.
Uzbekistan 100%
Highest Top-performing countries typically achieve near-universal literacy through strong education systems and broad access to schooling.
South Sudan 26.83%
Lowest Lower literacy rates are often linked to limited educational access, poverty, and infrastructure challenges.
Total Population Literacy Rate
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Countries Ranked by Literacy Rate
Country | Total Population Literacy Rate↓ | Literacy Rate - Male | Literacy Rate - Female | Data Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Uzbekistan | 100% | 100% | 100% | 2022 |
 | North Korea | 100% | 100% | 100% | 2008 |
 | Norway | 100% | |||
 | Finland | 100% | 2000 | ||
 | Luxembourg | 100% | 2000 | ||
 | Andorra | 100% | 100% | 100% | 2016 |
 | Greenland | 100% | 100% | 100% | 2015 |
 | Liechtenstein | 100% | |||
 | Palau | 100% | 100% | 100% | 2020 |
 | Tuvalu | 100% | 100% | 100% | 2022 |
 | Russia | 99.93% | 99.92% | 99.94% | 2021 |
 | San Marino | 99.91% | 99.9% | 99.93% | 2022 |
 | Turkmenistan | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 2022 |
 | Latvia | 99.9% | 99.88% | 99.91% | 2011 |
 | Estonia | 99.89% | 99.86% | 99.91% | 2011 |
 | Belarus | 99.87% | 99.87% | 99.88% | 2019 |
 | Armenia | 99.84% | 99.77% | 99.9% | 2023 |
 | Lithuania | 99.82% | 99.79% | 99.83% | 2011 |
 | Poland | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.8% | 2021 |
 | Tajikistan | 99.8% | 100% | 94.62% | 2015 |
 | Azerbaijan | 99.78% | 99.84% | 99.73% | 2023 |
 | Kazakhstan | 99.73% | 99.79% | 99.68% | 2009 |
 | Spain | 99.7% | 99.81% | 99.59% | 2021 |
 | Georgia | 99.68% | 99.75% | 99.62% | 2024 |
 | Barbados | 99.6% | 99.6% | 99.6% | 2014 |
 | Slovenia | 99.52% | 99.6% | 99.45% | 1991 |
 | Ukraine | 99.43% | 99.74% | 99.17% | 2001 |
 | Guam | 99.37% | 99.42% | 99.31% | 1990 |
 | Moldova | 99.36% | 99.6% | 99.14% | 2014 |
 | Italy | 99.35% | 99.48% | 99.22% | 2019 |
 | Serbia | 99.34% | 99.61% | 99.1% | 2022 |
 | Kyrgyzstan | 99.24% | 99.52% | 98.98% | 2009 |
 | Romania | 99.16% | 99.02% | 99.28% | 2021 |
 | Argentina | 99.14% | 99.13% | 99.16% | 2020 |
 | Hungary | 99.1% | 99.1% | 99.1% | 2021 |
 | Fiji | 99.1% | 99.1% | 92.43% | 2018 |
 | United States | 99% | |||
 | Japan | 99% | |||
 | Germany | 99% | |||
 | United Kingdom | 99% | |||
 | Netherlands | 99% | |||
 | Sweden | 99% | |||
 | Czechia | 99% | 99% | 99% | 2011 |
 | Ireland | 99% | |||
 | New Zealand | 99% | |||
 | Antigua and Barbuda | 99% | 98.4% | 99.42% | 2015 |
 | Uruguay | 98.91% | 98.63% | 99.17% | 2024 |
 | Cayman Islands | 98.87% | 98.72% | 99.02% | 2007 |
 | United Arab Emirates | 98.81% | 99.03% | 98.43% | 2024 |
 | Cyprus | 98.68% | 99.29% | 98.12% | 2011 |
 | Mongolia | 98.64% | 98.33% | 98.93% | 2023 |
 | Kiribati | 98.63% | 98.63% | 98.95% | 2020 |
 | Grenada | 98.6% | 98.6% | 98.6% | 2014 |
 | Montenegro | 98.53% | 99.15% | 97.95% | 2018 |
 | Taiwan | 98.5% | 99.7% | 97.3% | 2014 |
 | Philippines | 98.47% | 98.41% | 97% | 2020 |
 | Bulgaria | 98.35% | 98.75% | 97.98% | 2011 |
 | Maldives | 98.21% | 98.16% | 98.26% | 2019 |
 | Croatia | 98.15% | 99.32% | 97.08% | 2001 |
 | Palestine | 98% | 99.55% | 96.87% | 2022 |
 | Samoa | 97.99% | 98.32% | 97.66% | 2019 |
 | South Korea | 97.97% | 98.32% | 97.62% | 2008 |
 | Saudi Arabia | 97.93% | 98.58% | 96.69% | 2024 |
 | Bahrain | 97.82% | 98.67% | 96.29% | 2024 |
 | Israel | 97.8% | 98.7% | 96.8% | 2011 |
 | Qatar | 97.75% | 97.79% | 97.56% | 2014 |
 | Albania | 97.68% | 98.15% | 97.22% | 2023 |
 | Cuba | 97.65% | 99.03% | 96.35% | 2019 |
 | Singapore | 97.65% | 98.94% | 96.42% | 2021 |
 | Costa Rica | 97.41% | 97.31% | 94.12% | 2011 |
 | Oman | 97.34% | 98.62% | 94.86% | 2022 |
 | Turkey | 97.26% | 99.26% | 95.27% | 2021 |
 | Venezuela | 97.19% | 97.23% | 97.27% | 2017 |
 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 97% | 1980 | ||
 | American Samoa | 97% | 1980 | ||
 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 96.99% | 99.18% | 94.91% | 2013 |
 | Trinidad and Tobago | 96.94% | 98.01% | 93.83% | 1990 |
 | Aruba | 96.82% | 96.94% | 96.72% | 2010 |
 | China | 96.74% | 98.38% | 95.05% | 2020 |
 | Nauru | 96.59% | 93.37% | 99.72% | 2023 |
 | Macau | 96.54% | 98.19% | 95.03% | 2016 |
 | Kuwait | 96.46% | 97.05% | 95.35% | 2020 |
 | Chile | 96.4% | 96.48% | 96.33% | 2017 |
 | Ecuador | 96.26% | 96.85% | 95.72% | 2022 |
 | Panama | 96.26% | 97.29% | 95.95% | 2024 |
 | New Caledonia | 96.14% | 96.78% | 95.47% | 1996 |
 | Vietnam | 96.13% | 97.24% | 95.08% | 2022 |
 | North Macedonia | 96.13% | 98.21% | 97.78% | 2002 |
 | Brunei | 96.09% | 97.43% | 94.65% | 2011 |
 | Indonesia | 96% | 97.45% | 94.55% | 2020 |
 | Marshall Islands | 95.83% | 95.71% | 96.37% | 2021 |
 | Mexico | 95.77% | 96.44% | 95.17% | 2024 |
 | Malaysia | 95.77% | 96.82% | 94.67% | 2022 |
 | Bolivia | 95.55% | 97.77% | 93.5% | 2023 |
 | Colombia | 95.34% | 94.97% | 95.69% | 2024 |
 | Paraguay | 94.86% | 95.42% | 94.34% | 2024 |
 | Jordan | 94.85% | 97.46% | 92.31% | 2023 |
 | Brazil | 94.8% | 94.49% | 95.09% | 2024 |
 | Portugal | 94.48% | 96.29% | 92.86% | 2011 |
 | Syria | 94.42% | 97.17% | 91.82% | 2021 |
 | Mauritius | 94.33% | 96.3% | 92.84% | 2023 |
 | Dominican Republic | 94.03% | 93.6% | 94.43% | 2024 |
 | Seychelles | 93.95% | 93.46% | 94.45% | 2010 |
 | Greece | 93.91% | 96.07% | 91.85% | 2009 |
 | Peru | 93.66% | 97% | 90.65% | 2024 |
 | Myanmar | 93.55% | 94.68% | 92.72% | 2020 |
 | Malta | 93.31% | 91.79% | 94.79% | 2011 |
 | Zimbabwe | 93.23% | 93.07% | 93.36% | 2019 |
 | Suriname | 92.87% | 94.87% | 91% | 2012 |
 | Sri Lanka | 92.66% | 93.45% | 91.97% | 2023 |
 | Puerto Rico | 92.39% | 92.39% | 92.39% | 2017 |
 | Lebanon | 92.01% | 94.78% | 89.52% | 2019 |
 | South Africa | 91.15% | 91.5% | 90.83% | 2024 |
 | Thailand | 91.1% | 90.67% | 91.49% | 2022 |
 | Tonga | 91.05% | 83.82% | 97.58% | 2019 |
 | Libya | 91% | 96.7% | 85.6% | 2015 |
 | Eswatini | 90.75% | 91.11% | 90.41% | 2022 |
 | Lesotho | 90.45% | 83.15% | 96.63% | 2024 |
 | El Salvador | 89.77% | 91.62% | 88.25% | 2024 |
 | Iran | 88.92% | 92.76% | 85.1% | 2023 |
 | Gabon | 88.86% | 90.79% | 87.07% | 2021 |
 | Cape Verde | 88.47% | 92.9% | 84.12% | 2024 |
 | Equatorial Guinea | 88.31% | 94.84% | 81.62% | 2000 |
 | Honduras | 88.25% | 87.61% | 88.78% | 2024 |
 | Vanuatu | 87.96% | 87.73% | 88.18% | 2023 |
 | Belize | 87.88% | 87.88% | 87.88% | 2022 |
 | Namibia | 87.64% | 87.9% | 87.39% | 2023 |
 | Sao Tome and Principe | 87.44% | 92.5% | 82.75% | 2019 |
 | Nicaragua | 87.35% | 86.87% | 88.2% | 2014 |
 | Papua New Guinea | 87.14% | 90.5% | 61.55% | 2022 |
 | Tunisia | 86.25% | 92.69% | 80.07% | 2023 |
 | Guyana | 85.64% | 84.21% | 86.9% | 2020 |
 | Iraq | 84.06% | 90.31% | 77.75% | 2021 |
 | Kenya | 82.23% | 87.49% | 77.89% | 2000 |
 | Guatemala | 82.11% | 86.87% | 78.46% | 2024 |
 | Zambia | 82.04% | 87.21% | 77.19% | 2023 |
 | India | 81.7% | 88.31% | 74.86% | 2023 |
 | Botswana | 81.19% | 80.43% | 81.81% | 2003 |
 | Jamaica | 79.92% | 74.08% | 90.81% | 1999 |
 | Egypt | 79.46% | 85.29% | 73.3% | 2022 |
 | Uganda | 79.06% | 84.65% | 73.94% | 2021 |
 | Bangladesh | 79% | 81.39% | 76.54% | 2022 |
 | Rwanda | 78.76% | 81.03% | 76.7% | 2022 |
 | Tanzania | 78.21% | 84.25% | 73.13% | 2022 |
 | Solomon Islands | 76.6% | 83.7% | 1999 | |
 | Ghana | 76.49% | 81.33% | 72.14% | 2021 |
 | Republic of the Congo | 76.11% | 86.05% | 67.48% | 2005 |
 | Comoros | 75.83% | 79.89% | 72.25% | 2021 |
 | Laos | 75.64% | 85.13% | 66.73% | 2023 |
 | Algeria | 75.14% | 82.62% | 74.21% | 2008 |
 | Madagascar | 74.69% | 77.9% | 71.75% | 2021 |
 | Togo | 72.6% | 82.85% | 63.66% | 2022 |
 | Cameroon | 72.55% | 79.71% | 66.16% | 2018 |
 | Timor-Leste | 72.47% | 73.08% | 71.81% | 2022 |
 | Cambodia | 71.93% | 90.38% | 63.64% | 2021 |
 | Burundi | 71.41% | 78.17% | 66.24% | 2020 |
 | Nigeria | 70.41% | 78.43% | 62.42% | 2024 |
 | Malawi | 70.15% | 78.62% | 62.68% | 2020 |
 | Nepal | 68.71% | 79.75% | 59.41% | 2019 |
 | Haiti | 68.01% | 72.94% | 63.87% | 2017 |
 | Angola | 66.24% | 83.77% | 51.93% | 2015 |
 | DR Congo | 65.69% | 87.51% | 56.12% | 2020 |
 | Bhutan | 64.91% | 73.39% | 57% | 2022 |
 | Eritrea | 64.66% | 75.07% | 54.8% | 2008 |
 | Morocco | 64.26% | 75.44% | 53.37% | 2014 |
 | Guinea-Bissau | 63.93% | 77.32% | 52.16% | 2022 |
 | Mozambique | 61.68% | 74.12% | 50.93% | 2022 |
 | Ethiopia | 60.46% | 71.04% | 49.96% | 2022 |
 | Mauritania | 59.53% | 70.1% | 51.81% | 2020 |
 | Liberia | 59.4% | 72.54% | 47.78% | 2010 |
 | Pakistan | 58.86% | 69.14% | 48.52% | 2021 |
 | Somalia | 54.12% | 64.5% | 43.9% | 2022 |
 | Sudan | 53.52% | 59.8% | 46.7% | 2008 |
 | Gambia | 51.64% | 65.27% | 40.45% | 2021 |
 | Benin | 51.38% | 62.62% | 41.51% | 2022 |
 | Senegal | 50.36% | 61.47% | 41.5% | 2023 |
 | Ivory Coast | 50% | 68.03% | 40.26% | 2021 |
 | Sierra Leone | 43.58% | 54.6% | 33.94% | 2019 |
 | Central African Republic | 42.44% | 59.84% | 27.13% | 2019 |
 | Burkina Faso | 41.44% | 48.44% | 35.7% | 2023 |
 | Guinea | 39.62% | 54.43% | 27.69% | 2018 |
 | Afghanistan | 37.27% | 52.06% | 26.6% | 2021 |
 | Yemen | 37.09% | 56.72% | 54.13% | 1994 |
 | Niger | 35.61% | 47.89% | 25.69% | 2022 |
 | Mali | 35.47% | 46.18% | 25.74% | 2018 |
 | Chad | 30.63% | 44.52% | 18.64% | 2019 |
 | South Sudan | 26.83% | 34.84% | 19.19% | 2008 |
- Literacy rates display the % of adults ages 15 and above “who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.”
- Many countries, particularly in North America and Western Europe, utilize a more stringent definition of literacy. Those inculde include the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, France, and Germany.
Key Findings
Countries with the Highest Literacy Rates
-
Uzbekistan (100%), North Korea (100%), and Norway (100%) are among the countries reporting universal literacy rates.
-
These countries typically benefit from long-established public education systems, high school enrollment, and strong government investment in literacy.
Countries with the Lowest Literacy Rates
-
The lowest literacy rates are concentrated in countries such as Mali (35.47%), Chad (30.63%), and South Sudan (26.83%), where access to education remains limited.
-
Barriers such as poverty, rural isolation, underfunded schools, and political instability continue to constrain literacy development.
Global Literacy Rate
-
The global literacy rate stands at approximately 87.74%, reflecting major gains in education access over time.
-
While most countries have achieved high literacy, progress has slowed as remaining gaps are concentrated in harder-to-reach populations.
Gender Gap in Literacy
-
A substantial number of adults worldwide still lack basic literacy skills, with women disproportionately represented across many regions.
-
Gender gaps vary significantly by country, with the largest differences typically found in lower-income regions where access to education remains uneven.
World Trend Line
Global Literacy Rate Trends
Global literacy rates have risen steadily as access to education expanded worldwide. Gains have slowed in recent years as many countries approach universal literacy while remaining gaps persist in lower-income regions.
Literacy Rate
Comparison
Countries with similar literacy rates can differ significantly in education quality and outcomes. High literacy is widespread in developed economies, while lower rates are concentrated in regions facing structural barriers to education.
Definitions & Methodology
What Is a Literacy Rate? Literacy rate refers to the percentage of adults aged 15 and above who can read and write a short, simple statement about their everyday life. Definitions and measurement methods can vary by country, making direct comparisons imperfect.
Literacy and Poverty Low literacy rates are closely linked to poverty, as limited access to education reduces economic opportunities. The lowest literacy levels are heavily concentrated in parts of the world where structural barriers to schooling remain significant.
Last Updated: May 14, 2026
Sources
- Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - World Bank
- Literacy - CIA World Factbook
- 4.6.2. Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both sexes - UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
- Adult literacy rate - Our World in Data
- Countries with the highest literacy rate - US Career Institute
