TOP 100

Rank	Country	Literacy (%)
1	Andorra	100
2	Korea, North	100
3	Greenland	100
4	Uzbekistan	100
5	Latvia	99.9
6	Kazakhstan	99.8
7	Lithuania	99.8
8	Cuba	99.8
9	Estonia	99.8
10	Belarus	99.8
11	Azerbaijan	99.8
12	Poland	99.8
13	Tajikistan	99.8
14	Ukraine	99.8
15	Armenia	99.7
16	Russia	99.7
17	Slovenia	99.7
18	Turkmenistan	99.7
19	Barbados	99.6
20	Kyrgyzstan	99.6
21	Moldova	99.4
22	Georgia	99.4
23	Tonga	99.4
24	Croatia	99.3
25	Italy	99.2
26	Hungary	99.1
27	Fiji	99.1
28	Samoa	99.1
29	Czech Republic	99
30	Antigua and Barbuda	99
31	Argentina	99
32	Trinidad and Tobago	99
33	Cayman Islands	98.9
34	Montenegro	98.8
35	Romania	98.8
36	Uruguay	98.7
37	Grenada	98.6
38	Bosnia and Herzegovina	98.5
39	Taiwan	98.5
40	Mongolia	98.4
41	Bulgaria	98.4
42	Spain	98.4
43	Serbia	98.3
44	Marshall Islands	98.3
45	Jordan	98.2
46	Philippines	98.2
47	Albania	98.1
48	Korea, South	98
49	Costa Rica	97.9
50	Aruba	97.8
51	Israel	97.8
52	Macedonia	97.8
53	Maldives	97.7
54	Greece	97.7
55	Bahrain	97.5
56	Singapore	97.3
57	Gaza Strip	97.2
58	Brunei	97.2
59	West Bank	97.2
60	Venezuela	97.1
61	New Caledonia	96.9
62	China	96.8
63	Palau	96.6
64	Macau	96.5
65	Chile	96.4
66	Turkey	96.2
67	Kuwait	96.1
68	Portugal	96.1
69	Seychelles	95.9
70	Indonesia	95.7
71	Oman	95.7
72	Mexico	95.4
73	Panama	95.4
74	Equatorial Guinea	95.3
75	Saudi Arabia	95.3
76	Colombia	95.1
77	Lebanon	95.1
78	Vietnam	95
79	Malta	94.5
80	Suriname	94.4
81	Peru	94.4
82	Paraguay	94
83	Dominican Republic	93.8
84	United Arab Emirates	93.8
85	Malaysia	93.7
86	Qatar	93.5
87	Brazil	93.2
88	Thailand	92.9
89	Ecuador	92.8
90	Sao Tome and Principe	92.8
91	Bolivia	92.5
92	Puerto Rico	92.4
93	Sri Lanka	91.9
94	Namibia	91.5
95	Mauritius	91.3
96	Libya	91
97	Jamaica	88.7
98	Botswana	88.5
99	El Salvador	88.5
100	Guyana	88.5

Definition: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of the Factbook. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons. Low levels of literacy, and education in general, can impede the economic development of a country in the current rapidly changing, technology-driven world.

Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of January 1, 2020