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Education · SE.ADT.LITR.ZS
Adult literacy rate, % of people 15+: ranking of countries
141 countries ranked by their latest value (2009–2024). Tuvalu is highest at 100.0%; Chad is lowest at 30.6%.
World 87.7% (2024)Median country 93.7%141 countries
Adult literacy: world and regions, 1994–2024
WorldEast Asia & PacificEurope & Central AsiaLatin America & CaribbeanMiddle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & PakistanNorth AmericaSouth AsiaSub-Saharan Africa
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)Regional lines are World Bank aggregates.
Highest ten
full ranking
All 141 countries
Latest value for each country; the year column shows when it was reported.
141 shown
| # | Country | Region | Adult literacy | Year | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuvalu | East Asia & Pacific | 100.0% | 2022 | |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | Europe & Central Asia | 100.0% | 2022 | |
| 3 | Russia | Europe & Central Asia | 99.9% | 2021 | |
| 4 | San Marino | Europe & Central Asia | 99.9% | 2022 | |
| 5 | Latvia | Europe & Central Asia | 99.9% | 2011 | |
| 6 | Turkmenistan | Europe & Central Asia | 99.9% | 2022 | |
| 7 | Estonia | Europe & Central Asia | 99.9% | 2011 | |
| 8 | Belarus | Europe & Central Asia | 99.9% | 2019 | |
| 9 | Palau | East Asia & Pacific | 99.8% | 2020 | |
| 10 | Armenia | Europe & Central Asia | 99.8% | 2023 | |
| 11 | Lithuania | Europe & Central Asia | 99.8% | 2011 | |
| 12 | Azerbaijan | Europe & Central Asia | 99.8% | 2023 | |
| 13 | Kazakhstan | Europe & Central Asia | 99.7% | 2009 | |
| 14 | Tajikistan | Europe & Central Asia | 99.7% | 2009 | |
| 15 | Spain | Europe & Central Asia | 99.7% | 2021 | |
| 16 | Georgia | Europe & Central Asia | 99.7% | 2024 | |
| 17 | Tonga | East Asia & Pacific | 99.5% | 2023 | |
| 18 | Moldova | Europe & Central Asia | 99.4% | 2014 | |
| 19 | Italy | Europe & Central Asia | 99.3% | 2019 | |
| 20 | Serbia | Europe & Central Asia | 99.3% | 2022 | |
| 21 | Kyrgyzstan | Europe & Central Asia | 99.2% | 2009 | |
| 22 | Romania | Europe & Central Asia | 99.2% | 2021 | |
| 23 | Argentina | Latin America & Caribbean | 99.1% | 2020 | |
| 24 | Uruguay | Latin America & Caribbean | 98.9% | 2024 | |
| 25 | Cayman Islands | Latin America & Caribbean | 98.9% | 2017 | |
| 26 | United Arab Emirates | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 98.8% | 2024 | |
| 27 | Cyprus | Europe & Central Asia | 98.7% | 2011 | |
| 28 | Mongolia | East Asia & Pacific | 98.6% | 2024 | |
| 29 | Kiribati | East Asia & Pacific | 98.6% | 2020 | |
| 30 | Montenegro | Europe & Central Asia | 98.5% | 2018 | |
| 31 | Philippines | East Asia & Pacific | 98.5% | 2020 | |
| 32 | Bulgaria | Europe & Central Asia | 98.3% | 2011 | |
| 33 | Maldives | South Asia | 98.2% | 2019 | |
| 34 | Samoa | East Asia & Pacific | 98.0% | 2019 | |
| 35 | West Bank and Gaza | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 97.9% | 2024 | |
| 36 | Saudi Arabia | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 97.9% | 2024 | |
| 37 | Bahrain | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 97.8% | 2024 | |
| 38 | Qatar | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 97.8% | 2014 | |
| 39 | Albania | Europe & Central Asia | 97.7% | 2023 | |
| 40 | Cuba | Latin America & Caribbean | 97.7% | 2019 | |
| 41 | Singapore | East Asia & Pacific | 97.7% | 2021 | |
| 42 | Costa Rica | Latin America & Caribbean | 97.4% | 2011 | |
| 43 | Oman | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 97.3% | 2022 | |
| 44 | Türkiye | Europe & Central Asia | 97.3% | 2021 | |
| 45 | Venezuela | Latin America & Caribbean | 97.2% | 2017 | |
| 46 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Europe & Central Asia | 97.0% | 2013 | |
| 47 | Aruba | Latin America & Caribbean | 96.8% | 2010 | |
| 48 | China | East Asia & Pacific | 96.7% | 2020 | |
| 49 | Bolivia | Latin America & Caribbean | 96.7% | 2024 | |
| 50 | Nauru | East Asia & Pacific | 96.6% | 2023 | |
| 51 | Macao | East Asia & Pacific | 96.5% | 2016 | |
| 52 | Kuwait | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 96.5% | 2020 | |
| 53 | Chile | Latin America & Caribbean | 96.4% | 2017 | |
| 54 | Panama | Latin America & Caribbean | 96.2% | 2024 | |
| 55 | Vietnam | East Asia & Pacific | 96.1% | 2022 | |
| 56 | Brunei | East Asia & Pacific | 96.1% | 2011 | |
| 57 | Indonesia | East Asia & Pacific | 96.0% | 2020 | |
| 58 | Malaysia | East Asia & Pacific | 95.8% | 2022 | |
| 59 | Marshall Islands | East Asia & Pacific | 95.8% | 2021 | |
| 60 | Mexico | Latin America & Caribbean | 95.6% | 2024 | |
| 61 | Colombia | Latin America & Caribbean | 95.3% | 2024 | |
| 62 | Paraguay | Latin America & Caribbean | 94.9% | 2024 | |
| 63 | Brazil | Latin America & Caribbean | 94.7% | 2024 | |
| 64 | Portugal | Europe & Central Asia | 94.5% | 2011 | |
| 65 | Jordan | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 94.4% | 2024 | |
| 66 | Syria | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 94.4% | 2021 | |
| 67 | Mauritius | Sub-Saharan Africa | 94.3% | 2023 | |
| 68 | Dominican Republic | Latin America & Caribbean | 94.0% | 2024 | |
| 69 | Seychelles | Sub-Saharan Africa | 93.9% | 2010 | |
| 70 | Greece | Europe & Central Asia | 93.9% | 2009 | |
| 71 | Peru | Latin America & Caribbean | 93.7% | 2024 | |
| 72 | Myanmar | East Asia & Pacific | 93.5% | 2020 | |
| 73 | Ecuador | Latin America & Caribbean | 93.5% | 2024 | |
| 74 | Malta | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 93.3% | 2011 | |
| 75 | Zimbabwe | Sub-Saharan Africa | 93.2% | 2019 | |
| 76 | Suriname | Latin America & Caribbean | 92.9% | 2012 | |
| 77 | Sri Lanka | South Asia | 92.7% | 2024 | |
| 78 | Puerto Rico | Latin America & Caribbean | 92.4% | 2017 | |
| 79 | Lebanon | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 92.0% | 2019 | |
| 80 | South Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa | 91.2% | 2024 | |
| 81 | Thailand | East Asia & Pacific | 91.1% | 2022 | |
| 82 | Eswatini | Sub-Saharan Africa | 90.8% | 2022 | |
| 83 | Lesotho | Sub-Saharan Africa | 90.4% | 2024 | |
| 84 | El Salvador | Latin America & Caribbean | 89.8% | 2024 | |
| 85 | Iran | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 88.9% | 2023 | |
| 86 | Gabon | Sub-Saharan Africa | 88.9% | 2021 | |
| 87 | Cabo Verde | Sub-Saharan Africa | 88.5% | 2024 | |
| 88 | Honduras | Latin America & Caribbean | 88.2% | 2024 | |
| 89 | Vanuatu | East Asia & Pacific | 88.0% | 2023 | |
| 90 | Belize | Latin America & Caribbean | 87.9% | 2022 | |
| 91 | Namibia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 87.6% | 2023 | |
| 92 | São Tomé and Príncipe | Sub-Saharan Africa | 87.4% | 2019 | |
| 93 | Nicaragua | Latin America & Caribbean | 87.3% | 2014 | |
| 94 | Papua New Guinea | East Asia & Pacific | 87.0% | 2022 | |
| 95 | Tunisia | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 86.2% | 2023 | |
| 96 | Guyana | Latin America & Caribbean | 85.6% | 2020 | |
| 97 | Iraq | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 84.1% | 2021 | |
| 98 | Guatemala | Latin America & Caribbean | 82.1% | 2024 | |
| 99 | Egypt | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 79.5% | 2022 | |
| 100 | Bangladesh | South Asia | 79.0% | 2022 | |
| 101 | Rwanda | Sub-Saharan Africa | 78.8% | 2022 | |
| 102 | Tanzania | Sub-Saharan Africa | 78.2% | 2022 | |
| 103 | India | South Asia | 78.2% | 2024 | |
| 104 | Uganda | Sub-Saharan Africa | 77.0% | 2024 | |
| 105 | Ghana | Sub-Saharan Africa | 76.5% | 2021 | |
| 106 | Laos | East Asia & Pacific | 75.6% | 2023 | |
| 107 | Comoros | Sub-Saharan Africa | 75.6% | 2021 | |
| 108 | Madagascar | Sub-Saharan Africa | 74.7% | 2021 | |
| 109 | Togo | Sub-Saharan Africa | 72.6% | 2022 | |
| 110 | Cameroon | Sub-Saharan Africa | 72.6% | 2018 | |
| 111 | Cambodia | East Asia & Pacific | 71.9% | 2021 | |
| 112 | Zambia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 71.8% | 2024 | |
| 113 | Burundi | Sub-Saharan Africa | 71.3% | 2020 | |
| 114 | Nigeria | Sub-Saharan Africa | 70.4% | 2024 | |
| 115 | Malawi | Sub-Saharan Africa | 70.2% | 2020 | |
| 116 | Timor-Leste | East Asia & Pacific | 69.4% | 2022 | |
| 117 | Nepal | South Asia | 68.7% | 2019 | |
| 118 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Sub-Saharan Africa | 68.5% | 2023 | |
| 119 | Angola | Sub-Saharan Africa | 68.2% | 2023 | |
| 120 | Haiti | Latin America & Caribbean | 68.0% | 2017 | |
| 121 | Bhutan | South Asia | 64.9% | 2022 | |
| 122 | Morocco | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 64.3% | 2014 | |
| 123 | Guinea-Bissau | Sub-Saharan Africa | 63.9% | 2022 | |
| 124 | Mozambique | Sub-Saharan Africa | 61.7% | 2022 | |
| 125 | Ethiopia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 60.5% | 2022 | |
| 126 | Mauritania | Sub-Saharan Africa | 59.5% | 2020 | |
| 127 | Liberia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 59.4% | 2010 | |
| 128 | Pakistan | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 58.9% | 2021 | |
| 129 | Somalia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 54.1% | 2022 | |
| 130 | The Gambia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 51.6% | 2021 | |
| 131 | Benin | Sub-Saharan Africa | 51.4% | 2022 | |
| 132 | Senegal | Sub-Saharan Africa | 50.4% | 2023 | |
| 133 | Côte d'Ivoire | Sub-Saharan Africa | 50.0% | 2021 | |
| 134 | Sierra Leone | Sub-Saharan Africa | 43.6% | 2019 | |
| 135 | Central African Republic | Sub-Saharan Africa | 42.4% | 2019 | |
| 136 | Burkina Faso | Sub-Saharan Africa | 41.6% | 2023 | |
| 137 | Guinea | Sub-Saharan Africa | 39.6% | 2018 | |
| 138 | Afghanistan | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 37.3% | 2021 | |
| 139 | Mali | Sub-Saharan Africa | 35.6% | 2024 | |
| 140 | Niger | Sub-Saharan Africa | 35.6% | 2022 | |
| 141 | Chad | Sub-Saharan Africa | 30.6% | 2019 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)