Literacy rate - Country rankings
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
Literacy rate, 2021:
The average for 2021 based on 39 countries was 91.79 percent. The highest value was in Ukraine: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 37.27 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.Measure: percent; Source: UNESCO
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* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Countries | Literacy rate, 2021 | Global rank | Available data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine | 100 | 1 | 2001 - 2021 |
| Uzbekistan | 100 | 2 | 2000 - 2022 |
| Russia | 99.93 | 3 | 1989 - 2021 |
| Latvia | 99.89 | 4 | 1989 - 2021 |
| Estonia | 99.87 | 5 | 1989 - 2021 |
| Lithuania | 99.83 | 6 | 1989 - 2021 |
| Poland | 99.8 | 7 | 1978 - 2021 |
| Moldova | 99.6 | 8 | 1989 - 2021 |
| Croatia | 99.45 | 9 | 1991 - 2021 |
| Tonga | 99.4 | 10 | 1976 - 2021 |
| Cyprus | 99.36 | 11 | 1992 - 2021 |
| Hungary | 99.1 | 12 | 1980 - 2021 |
| Samoa | 99.1 | 13 | 1991 - 2021 |
| Montenegro | 98.98 | 14 | 1981 - 2021 |
| Romania | 98.9 | 15 | 1992 - 2021 |
| Bulgaria | 98.42 | 16 | 2001 - 2021 |
| Jordan | 98.42 | 17 | 1979 - 2021 |
| UA Emirates | 98.13 | 18 | 1975 - 2022 |
| Costa Rica | 98.04 | 19 | 1984 - 2021 |
| Maldives | 97.86 | 20 | 1977 - 2021 |
| Brunei | 97.59 | 21 | 1981 - 2021 |
| Macao | 97.11 | 22 | 1981 - 2021 |
| Portugal | 96.78 | 23 | 1981 - 2021 |
| Suriname | 95 | 24 | 2004 - 2021 |
| Malta | 94.94 | 25 | 1985 - 2021 |
| Ecuador | 94.48 | 26 | 1982 - 2022 |
| Thailand | 94.1 | 27 | 1980 - 2021 |
| Sri Lanka | 92.43 | 28 | 1981 - 2021 |
| Puerto Rico | 92.4 | 29 | 1980 - 2021 |
| Namibia | 92.25 | 30 | 1991 - 2021 |
| Mauritius | 92.15 | 31 | 1990 - 2021 |
| South Africa | 90 | 32 | 1980 - 2021 |
| Vanuatu | 89.1 | 33 | 1979 - 2021 |
| R. of Congo | 80.61 | 34 | 1984 - 2021 |
| Rwanda | 75.9 | 35 | 1978 - 2021 |
| Nepal | 71.15 | 36 | 1981 - 2021 |
| Mauritania | 66.96 | 37 | 2000 - 2021 |
| Guinea | 45.33 | 38 | 1996 - 2021 |
| Afghanistan | 37.27 | 39 | 1979 - 2021 |
Definition: 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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100.00
100.00
99.93
99.89
99.87
99.83
99.80
99.60
99.45
99.40
99.36
99.10
99.10
98.98
98.90
98.42
98.42
98.13
98.04
97.86
97.59
97.11
96.78
95.00
94.94
94.48
94.10
92.43
92.40
92.25
92.15
90.00
89.10
80.61
75.90
71.15
66.96
45.33
37.27
0
25
50
75
100
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