Adult literacy rate
Tier A· OfficialShare of people aged 15 and older who can read and write a short simple statement about their everyday life.
100 = highest adult literacy in the dataset, 0 = lowest
Mixed reference years (2000–2024). This metric uses each country's most recent available year, so countries are not all measured in the same year — cross-country comparison is weakened. Each row shows its own reference year.
How this score is built
Adult literacy rate — % of people aged 15+ who can read and write — World Bank indicator SE.ADT.LITR.ZS (UNESCO Institute for Statistics). Direction is higher_better. Normalized with min–max; the raw percentage is shown. Literacy is surveyed infrequently, so coverage is uneven and the reference year varies by country (shown per country).
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0100No data
100 = highest adult literacy in the dataset, 0 = lowest
Full ranking
155 countries with data. Rank 1 = best. Click a column to sort; click a country for its full provenance.
| Rank ↑ | Country | Score | Raw value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | North KoreaPRK | 100100 | 100 % of adults |
| 1st | TuvaluTUV | 100100 | 100 % of adults |
| 1st | UzbekistanUZB | 100100 | 100 % of adults |
| 4th | RussiaRUS | 99.9100 | 99.93 % of adults |
| 5th | San MarinoSMR | 99.88100 | 99.91 % of adults |
| 6th | LatviaLVA | 99.86100 | 99.9 % of adults |
| 6th | TurkmenistanTKM | 99.86100 | 99.9 % of adults |
| 8th | EstoniaEST | 99.85100 | 99.89 % of adults |
| 9th | BelarusBLR | 99.82100 | 99.87 % of adults |
| 10th | PalauPLW | 99.79100 | 99.8448 % of adults |
| 11th | ArmeniaARM | 99.78100 | 99.84 % of adults |
| 12th | LithuaniaLTU | 99.75100 | 99.82 % of adults |
| 13th | AzerbaijanAZE | 99.7100 | 99.78 % of adults |
| 14th | KazakhstanKAZ | 99.63100 | 99.73 % of adults |
| 14th | TajikistanTJK | 99.63100 | 99.7299 % of adults |
| 16th | SpainESP | 99.59100 | 99.7 % of adults |
| 17th | GeorgiaGEO | 99.56100 | 99.68 % of adults |
| 18th | TongaTON | 99.2999 | 99.48 % of adults |
| 19th | UkraineUKR | 99.2299 | 99.43 % of adults |
| 20th | MoldovaMDA | 99.1399 | 99.36 % of adults |
| 21st | ItalyITA | 99.1199 | 99.35 % of adults |
| 22nd | SerbiaSRB | 99.199 | 99.34 % of adults |
| 23rd | KyrgyzstanKGZ | 98.9699 | 99.24 % of adults |
| 24th | RomaniaROU | 98.8599 | 99.16 % of adults |
| 25th | ArgentinaARG | 98.8299 | 99.14 % of adults |
| 26th | Antigua and BarbudaATG | 98.5699 | 98.95 % of adults |
| 27th | UruguayURY | 98.5199 | 98.91 % of adults |
| 28th | Cayman IslandsCYM | 98.4698 | 98.87 % of adults |
| 29th | United Arab EmiratesARE | 98.3798 | 98.81 % of adults |
| 30th | CyprusCYP | 98.298 | 98.68 % of adults |
| 31st | MongoliaMNG | 98.1498 | 98.64 % of adults |
| 32nd | KiribatiKIR | 98.198 | 98.608 % of adults |
| 33rd | MontenegroMNE | 97.9998 | 98.53 % of adults |
| 34th | PhilippinesPHL | 97.9198 | 98.47 % of adults |
| 35th | BulgariaBGR | 97.7498 | 98.35 % of adults |
| 36th | MaldivesMDV | 97.5598 | 98.21 % of adults |
| 37th | CroatiaHRV | 97.4797 | 98.15 % of adults |
| 38th | SamoaWSM | 97.2597 | 97.99 % of adults |
| 39th | South KoreaKOR | 97.2397 | 97.97 % of adults |
| 40th | PalestinePSE | 97.1897 | 97.939 % of adults |
| 41st | Saudi ArabiaSAU | 97.1797 | 97.93 % of adults |
| 42nd | BahrainBHR | 97.0297 | 97.82 % of adults |
| 43rd | QatarQAT | 96.9297 | 97.75 % of adults |
| 44th | AlbaniaALB | 96.8397 | 97.68 % of adults |
| 45th | CubaCUB | 96.7997 | 97.65 % of adults |
| 45th | SingaporeSGP | 96.7997 | 97.65 % of adults |
| 47th | Costa RicaCRI | 96.4696 | 97.41 % of adults |
| 48th | OmanOMN | 96.3696 | 97.34 % of adults |
| 49th | TürkiyeTUR | 96.2696 | 97.26 % of adults |
| 50th | VenezuelaVEN | 96.1596 | 97.1837 % of adults |
| 51st | Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIH | 95.8996 | 96.99 % of adults |
| 52nd | ArubaABW | 95.6596 | 96.82 % of adults |
| 53rd | ChinaCHN | 95.5496 | 96.74 % of adults |
| 54th | BoliviaBOL | 95.5396 | 96.73 % of adults |
| 55th | NauruNRU | 95.3495 | 96.59 % of adults |
| 56th | MacauMAC | 95.2795 | 96.54 % of adults |
| 57th | KuwaitKWT | 95.1695 | 96.46 % of adults |
| 58th | ChileCHL | 95.0895 | 96.4 % of adults |
| 59th | PanamaPAN | 94.8495 | 96.2277 % of adults |
| 60th | North MacedoniaMKD | 94.7195 | 96.13 % of adults |
| 60th | VietnamVNM | 94.7195 | 96.13 % of adults |
| 62nd | BruneiBRN | 94.6695 | 96.09 % of adults |
| 63rd | IndonesiaIDN | 94.5395 | 96 % of adults |
| 64th | MalaysiaMYS | 94.2294 | 95.77 % of adults |
| 65th | Marshall IslandsMHL | 94.2194 | 95.7629 % of adults |
| 66th | MexicoMEX | 93.9294 | 95.55 % of adults |
| 67th | ColombiaCOL | 93.6394 | 95.34 % of adults |
| 68th | ParaguayPRY | 92.9893 | 94.86 % of adults |
| 69th | BrazilBRA | 92.8193 | 94.74 % of adults |
| 70th | PortugalPRT | 92.4692 | 94.48 % of adults |
| 71st | JordanJOR | 92.492 | 94.44 % of adults |
| 72nd | SyriaSYR | 92.3792 | 94.42 % of adults |
| 73rd | MauritiusMUS | 92.1992 | 94.2878 % of adults |
| 74th | Dominican RepublicDOM | 91.8492 | 94.03 % of adults |
| 75th | SeychellesSYC | 91.7392 | 93.95 % of adults |
| 76th | GreeceGRC | 91.6892 | 93.91 % of adults |
| 77th | PeruPER | 91.3491 | 93.66 % of adults |
| 78th | MyanmarMMR | 91.1591 | 93.5274 % of adults |
| 79th | EcuadorECU | 91.191 | 93.49 % of adults |
| 80th | MaltaMLT | 90.8691 | 93.31 % of adults |
| 81st | ZimbabweZWE | 90.7591 | 93.23 % of adults |
| 82nd | SurinameSUR | 90.2690 | 92.87 % of adults |
| 83rd | Sri LankaLKA | 90.0890 | 92.74 % of adults |
| 84th | Puerto RicoPRI | 89.690 | 92.39 % of adults |
| 85th | LebanonLBN | 89.0889 | 92.01 % of adults |
| 86th | South AfricaZAF | 87.988 | 91.15 % of adults |
| 87th | ThailandTHA | 87.8488 | 91.1 % of adults |
| 88th | EswatiniSWZ | 87.3687 | 90.75 % of adults |
| 89th | LesothoLSO | 86.9587 | 90.45 % of adults |
| 90th | El SalvadorSLV | 86.0286 | 89.77 % of adults |
| 91st | IranIRN | 84.8585 | 88.9168 % of adults |
| 92nd | GabonGAB | 84.7885 | 88.86 % of adults |
| 93rd | Cape VerdeCPV | 84.2484 | 88.47 % of adults |
| 94th | Equatorial GuineaGNQ | 84.0284 | 88.31 % of adults |
| 95th | HondurasHND | 83.9484 | 88.25 % of adults |
| 96th | VanuatuVUT | 83.5584 | 87.96 % of adults |
| 97th | BelizeBLZ | 83.4483 | 87.88 % of adults |
| 98th | NamibiaNAM | 83.1183 | 87.64 % of adults |
| 99th | São Tomé and PríncipeSTP | 82.8383 | 87.44 % of adults |
| 100th | NicaraguaNIC | 82.6883 | 87.3272 % of adults |
| 101st | Papua New GuineaPNG | 82.2482 | 87.0047 % of adults |
| 102nd | TunisiaTUN | 81.2181 | 86.25 % of adults |
| 103rd | GuyanaGUY | 80.3780 | 85.64 % of adults |
| 104th | IraqIRQ | 78.2278 | 84.0649 % of adults |
| 105th | KenyaKEN | 75.7176 | 82.23 % of adults |
| 106th | GuatemalaGTM | 75.5576 | 82.11 % of adults |
| 107th | BotswanaBWA | 74.2974 | 81.19 % of adults |
| 108th | EgyptEGY | 71.9272 | 79.4532 % of adults |
| 109th | BangladeshBGD | 71.371 | 79 % of adults |
| 110th | RwandaRWA | 70.9771 | 78.76 % of adults |
| 111th | TanzaniaTZA | 70.2270 | 78.21 % of adults |
| 112th | IndiaIND | 70.1670 | 78.1625 % of adults |
| 113th | UgandaUGA | 68.6269 | 77.04 % of adults |
| 114th | GhanaGHA | 67.8768 | 76.49 % of adults |
| 115th | CongoCOG | 67.3567 | 76.11 % of adults |
| 116th | LaosLAO | 66.7167 | 75.64 % of adults |
| 117th | ComorosCOM | 66.6867 | 75.6202 % of adults |
| 118th | AlgeriaDZA | 66.0266 | 75.14 % of adults |
| 119th | MadagascarMDG | 65.4165 | 74.69 % of adults |
| 120th | TogoTGO | 62.5563 | 72.6 % of adults |
| 121st | CameroonCMR | 62.4862 | 72.55 % of adults |
| 122nd | CambodiaKHM | 61.6462 | 71.93 % of adults |
| 123rd | ZambiaZMB | 61.4261 | 71.77 % of adults |
| 124th | BurundiBDI | 60.8361 | 71.3375 % of adults |
| 125th | NigeriaNGA | 59.5660 | 70.41 % of adults |
| 126th | MalawiMWI | 59.259 | 70.15 % of adults |
| 127th | Timor-LesteTLS | 58.1858 | 69.4 % of adults |
| 128th | NepalNPL | 57.2457 | 68.71 % of adults |
| 129th | DR CongoCOD | 56.9557 | 68.5 % of adults |
| 130th | AngolaAGO | 56.5157 | 68.18 % of adults |
| 131st | HaitiHTI | 56.2856 | 68.01 % of adults |
| 132nd | BhutanBTN | 52.0452 | 64.91 % of adults |
| 133rd | EritreaERI | 51.752 | 64.66 % of adults |
| 134th | MoroccoMAR | 51.1551 | 64.26 % of adults |
| 135th | Guinea-BissauGNB | 50.751 | 63.93 % of adults |
| 136th | MozambiqueMOZ | 47.6148 | 61.6653 % of adults |
| 137th | EthiopiaETH | 45.9646 | 60.46 % of adults |
| 138th | MauritaniaMRT | 44.6945 | 59.53 % of adults |
| 139th | LiberiaLBR | 44.5245 | 59.403 % of adults |
| 140th | PakistanPAK | 43.7744 | 58.86 % of adults |
| 141st | SomaliaSOM | 37.337 | 54.12 % of adults |
| 142nd | SudanSDN | 36.4836 | 53.52 % of adults |
| 143rd | GambiaGMB | 33.9134 | 51.64 % of adults |
| 144th | BeninBEN | 33.5534 | 51.38 % of adults |
| 145th | SenegalSEN | 32.1632 | 50.36 % of adults |
| 146th | Ivory CoastCIV | 31.6732 | 50 % of adults |
| 147th | Sierra LeoneSLE | 22.8923 | 43.58 % of adults |
| 148th | Central African RepublicCAF | 21.3321 | 42.44 % of adults |
| 149th | Burkina FasoBFA | 20.1420 | 41.5671 % of adults |
| 150th | GuineaGIN | 17.4817 | 39.62 % of adults |
| 151st | AfghanistanAFG | 14.2714 | 37.27 % of adults |
| 152nd | MaliMLI | 12.0312 | 35.63 % of adults |
| 153rd | NigerNER | 1212 | 35.61 % of adults |
| 154th | ChadTCD | 5.195 | 30.63 % of adults |
| 155th | South SudanSSD | 00 | 26.83 % of adults |