Literacy rate - Country rankings
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
Literacy rate, 2021:
The average for 2021 based on 11 countries was 98.76 percent. The highest value was in Latvia: 99.89 percent and the lowest value was in Malta: 94.94 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia | 99.89 | 1 | 1989 - 2021 |
| Estonia | 99.87 | 2 | 1989 - 2021 |
| Lithuania | 99.83 | 3 | 1989 - 2021 |
| Poland | 99.8 | 4 | 1978 - 2021 |
| Croatia | 99.45 | 5 | 1991 - 2021 |
| Cyprus | 99.36 | 6 | 1992 - 2021 |
| Hungary | 99.1 | 7 | 1980 - 2021 |
| Romania | 98.9 | 8 | 1992 - 2021 |
| Bulgaria | 98.42 | 9 | 2001 - 2021 |
| Portugal | 96.78 | 10 | 1981 - 2021 |
| Malta | 94.94 | 11 | 1985 - 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
99.89
99.87
99.83
99.80
99.45
99.36
99.10
98.90
98.42
96.78
94.94
0
25
49.9
74.9
99.89
Literacy rate around the world Literacy rate in Europe Literacy rate in Asia Literacy rate in Africa Literacy rate in North America Literacy rate in South America Literacy rate in Australia/Oceania Literacy rate in Sub Sahara Africa Literacy rate in MENA Literacy rate in South East Asia Literacy rate in Latin America