Countries by Literacy Rate
Share of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a short statement.
175 of 240 countries and territories have a published value for this indicator.
#1 Uzbekistan
100.0%
Asia
World Bank, 2022#1 North Korea
100.0%
Asia
World Bank, 2008#1 Tuvalu
100.0%
Oceania
World Bank, 2022Median country
94.3%
Across 175 ranked countries
Full Ranking (175 Countries)
Countries with no published value are excluded rather than ranked last. Sort any column, filter by continent, or export as CSV.
175 countries
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% |
| 1 | North Korea | 100.0% |
| 1 | Tuvalu | 100.0% |
| 4 | Russia | 99.9% |
| 5 | San Marino | 99.9% |
| 6 | Turkmenistan | 99.9% |
| 6 | Latvia | 99.9% |
| 8 | Estonia | 99.9% |
| 9 | Belarus | 99.9% |
| 10 | Palau | 99.8% |
| 11 | Armenia | 99.8% |
| 12 | Lithuania | 99.8% |
| 13 | Azerbaijan | 99.8% |
| 14 | Kazakhstan | 99.7% |
| 14 | Tajikistan | 99.7% |
| 16 | Spain | 99.7% |
| 17 | Georgia | 99.7% |
| 18 | Slovenia | 99.5% |
| 19 | Tonga | 99.5% |
| 20 | Ukraine | 99.4% |
| 21 | Guam | 99.4% |
| 22 | Moldova | 99.4% |
| 23 | Italy | 99.4% |
| 24 | Serbia | 99.3% |
| 25 | Barbados | 99.3% |
| 26 | Kyrgyzstan | 99.2% |
| 27 | Romania | 99.2% |
| 28 | Argentina | 99.1% |
| 29 | United States | 99.0% |
| 29 | Japan | 99.0% |
| 29 | Germany | 99.0% |
| 29 | United Kingdom | 99.0% |
| 29 | France | 99.0% |
| 34 | Antigua and Barbuda | 99.0% |
| 35 | Uruguay | 98.9% |
| 36 | Cayman Islands | 98.9% |
| 37 | Hungary | 98.9% |
| 38 | United Arab Emirates | 98.8% |
| 39 | Poland | 98.7% |
| 40 | Cyprus | 98.7% |
| 41 | Mongolia | 98.6% |
| 42 | Kiribati | 98.6% |
| 43 | Montenegro | 98.5% |
| 44 | Philippines | 98.5% |
| 45 | Bulgaria | 98.4% |
| 46 | Maldives | 98.2% |
| 47 | Croatia | 98.2% |
| 48 | Samoa | 98.0% |
| 49 | South Korea | 98.0% |
| 50 | State of Palestine | 97.9% |
| 51 | Saudi Arabia | 97.9% |
| 52 | Bahrain | 97.8% |
| 53 | Grenada | 97.8% |
| 54 | Qatar | 97.8% |
| 55 | Albania | 97.7% |
| 56 | Cuba | 97.7% |
| 56 | Singapore | 97.7% |
| 58 | Costa Rica | 97.4% |
| 59 | Oman | 97.3% |
| 59 | American Samoa | 97.3% |
| 61 | Turkey | 97.3% |
| 62 | Venezuela | 97.2% |
| 63 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 97.0% |
| 64 | Trinidad and Tobago | 96.9% |
| 65 | Aruba | 96.8% |
| 66 | China | 96.7% |
| 67 | Bolivia | 96.7% |
| 68 | Nauru | 96.6% |
| 69 | Macao | 96.5% |
| 70 | Kuwait | 96.5% |
| 71 | Chile | 96.4% |
| 72 | Panama | 96.2% |
| 73 | New Caledonia | 96.1% |
| 74 | Vietnam | 96.1% |
| 74 | North Macedonia | 96.1% |
| 76 | Brunei | 96.1% |
| 77 | Indonesia | 96.0% |
| 78 | Malaysia | 95.8% |
| 79 | Marshall Islands | 95.8% |
| 80 | Saint Vincent | 95.6% |
| 81 | Mexico | 95.6% |
| 82 | Colombia | 95.3% |
| 83 | Paraguay | 94.9% |
| 84 | Brazil | 94.7% |
| 85 | Portugal | 94.5% |
| 86 | Jordan | 94.4% |
| 87 | Syria | 94.4% |
| 88 | Mauritius | 94.3% |
| 89 | Dominican Republic | 94.0% |
| 90 | Seychelles | 94.0% |
| 91 | Greece | 93.9% |
| 92 | Peru | 93.7% |
| 93 | Myanmar | 93.5% |
| 94 | Ecuador | 93.5% |
| 95 | Malta | 93.3% |
| 96 | Zimbabwe | 93.2% |
| 97 | Suriname | 92.9% |
| 98 | Sri Lanka | 92.7% |
| 99 | Puerto Rico | 92.4% |
| 100 | Lebanon | 92.0% |
| 101 | Israel | 91.8% |
| 102 | South Africa | 91.2% |
| 103 | Thailand | 91.1% |
| 104 | Eswatini | 90.8% |
| 105 | Lesotho | 90.5% |
| 106 | El Salvador | 89.8% |
| 107 | Iran | 88.9% |
| 108 | Gabon | 88.9% |
| 109 | Cape Verde | 88.5% |
| 110 | Equatorial Guinea | 88.3% |
| 111 | Honduras | 88.3% |
| 112 | Vanuatu | 88.0% |
| 113 | Belize | 87.9% |
| 114 | Namibia | 87.6% |
| 115 | Sao Tome and Principe | 87.4% |
| 116 | Nicaragua | 87.3% |
| 117 | Papua New Guinea | 87.0% |
| 118 | Tunisia | 86.3% |
| 119 | Guyana | 85.6% |
| 120 | Iraq | 84.1% |
| 121 | Kenya | 82.2% |
| 122 | Guatemala | 82.1% |
| 123 | Botswana | 81.2% |
| 124 | Jamaica | 79.9% |
| 125 | Egypt | 79.5% |
| 126 | Bangladesh | 79.0% |
| 127 | Rwanda | 78.8% |
| 128 | Tanzania | 78.2% |
| 129 | India | 78.2% |
| 130 | Uganda | 77.0% |
| 131 | Solomon Islands | 76.6% |
| 132 | Ghana | 76.5% |
| 133 | Congo | 76.1% |
| 134 | Laos | 75.6% |
| 135 | Comoros | 75.6% |
| 136 | Algeria | 75.1% |
| 137 | Madagascar | 74.7% |
| 138 | Togo | 72.6% |
| 139 | Cameroon | 72.6% |
| 140 | Cambodia | 71.9% |
| 141 | Zambia | 71.8% |
| 142 | Burundi | 71.3% |
| 143 | Nigeria | 70.4% |
| 144 | Malawi | 70.2% |
| 145 | Timor-Leste | 69.4% |
| 146 | Nepal | 68.7% |
| 147 | DR Congo | 68.5% |
| 148 | Angola | 68.2% |
| 149 | Haiti | 68.0% |
| 150 | Bhutan | 64.9% |
| 151 | Eritrea | 64.7% |
| 152 | Morocco | 64.3% |
| 153 | Guinea-Bissau | 63.9% |
| 154 | Mozambique | 61.7% |
| 155 | Ethiopia | 60.5% |
| 156 | Libya | 60.2% |
| 157 | Mauritania | 59.5% |
| 158 | Liberia | 59.4% |
| 159 | Pakistan | 58.9% |
| 160 | Somalia | 54.1% |
| 161 | Sudan | 53.5% |
| 162 | Gambia | 51.6% |
| 163 | Benin | 51.4% |
| 164 | Senegal | 50.4% |
| 165 | Ivory Coast | 50.0% |
| 166 | Sierra Leone | 43.6% |
| 167 | Central African Republic | 42.4% |
| 168 | Burkina Faso | 41.6% |
| 169 | Guinea | 39.6% |
| 170 | Afghanistan | 37.3% |
| 171 | Yemen | 37.1% |
| 172 | Mali | 35.6% |
| 173 | Niger | 35.6% |
| 174 | Chad | 30.6% |
| 175 | South Sudan | 26.8% |
Top 10
The ten highest-ranked countries by literacy rate.
- Uzbekistan100.0%
- North Korea100.0%
- Tuvalu100.0%
- Russia99.9%
- San Marino99.9%
- Turkmenistan99.9%
- Latvia99.9%
- Estonia99.9%
- Belarus99.9%
- Palau99.8%
| Name | Literacy Rate |
|---|---|
| Uzbekistan | 100.0% |
| North Korea | 100.0% |
| Tuvalu | 100.0% |
| Russia | 99.9% |
| San Marino | 99.9% |
| Turkmenistan | 99.9% |
| Latvia | 99.9% |
| Estonia | 99.9% |
| Belarus | 99.9% |
| Palau | 99.8% |
Population Trends of the Leaders
How the top-ranked countries' populations have moved. Choose a time window to rescale.
UzbekistanNorth KoreaTuvaluRussiaSan MarinoTurkmenistan
By Continent
Mean of country values within each continent — an unweighted average, so a small country counts the same as a large one.
- Europe18.3%
- South America17.6%
- Oceania17.6%
- North America17.2%
- Asia16.7%
- Africa12.6%
| Name | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | 98 | 18.3% |
| South America | 95 | 17.6% |
| Oceania | 95 | 17.6% |
| North America | 92 | 17.2% |
| Asia | 90 | 16.7% |
| Africa | 68 | 12.6% |
Average by continent
- Europe (28)98.4%
- South America (12)94.9%
- Oceania (13)94.8%
- North America (21)92.4%
- Asia (48)89.8%
- Africa (53)68.0%
About This Data
Definition
Share of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a short statement.
Coverage and vintage
175 of 240 countries and territories report this indicator. Each value is the latest published observation for that country — the year column shows which. The leading value is World Bank, 2022.