* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Literacy rate, 2021:

The average for 2021 based on 7 countries was 77.6 percent. The highest value was in Namibia: 92.25 percent and the lowest value was in Guinea: 45.33 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Measure: percent; Source: UNESCO
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series


Countries Literacy rate, 2021 Global rank Available data
Namibia 92.25 1 1991 - 2021
Mauritius 92.15 2 1990 - 2021
South Africa 90 3 1980 - 2021
R. of Congo 80.61 4 1984 - 2021
Rwanda 75.9 5 1978 - 2021
Mauritania 66.96 6 2000 - 2021
Guinea 45.33 7 1996 - 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.

Selected articles from our guide:

The unholy trinity of international finance

Most commonly used measures of corruption

All articles

This site uses cookies.
Learn more here


OK