Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) - Country Ranking

Definition: Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/)

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Uzbekistan 100.00 2019
2 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 100.00 2008
3 Serbia 100.00 2019
4 Ukraine 99.97 2012
5 Korea 99.95 2008
6 Estonia 99.95 2011
7 Azerbaijan 99.93 2019
8 Italy 99.93 2018
9 Singapore 99.93 2019
10 Turkey 99.91 2019
11 Tajikistan 99.90 2014
11 Barbados 99.90 2014
13 Kazakhstan 99.90 2018
14 Cuba 99.87 2012
15 Armenia 99.87 2020
16 Belarus 99.87 2019
17 Lithuania 99.86 2011
18 Cyprus 99.82 2011
19 Latvia 99.82 2018
20 Moldova 99.81 2014
21 Slovenia 99.80 2014
21 Turkmenistan 99.80 2014
23 Macao SAR, China 99.80 2016
24 Poland 99.80 2008
25 China 99.78 2018
26 Indonesia 99.78 2020
27 Lebanon 99.75 2018
28 Kyrgyz Republic 99.75 2018
29 Croatia 99.72 2011
30 Brunei 99.71 2018
31 Georgia 99.70 2019
32 Russia 99.70 2018
33 Portugal 99.66 2018
34 Bosnia and Herzegovina 99.66 2013
35 Spain 99.62 2020
36 Trinidad and Tobago 99.60 2010
36 Libya 99.60 2004
38 Argentina 99.51 2018
39 Saudi Arabia 99.50 2020
40 Tonga 99.44 2018
41 Peru 99.44 2020
42 Costa Rica 99.43 2018
43 Romania 99.43 2018
44 Bolivia 99.40 2015
45 Jordan 99.34 2018
46 Albania 99.33 2018
47 Kuwait 99.30 2020
48 Malta 99.30 2018
49 Brazil 99.20 2018
50 Grenada 99.20 2014
50 New Caledonia 99.20 2014
52 Greece 99.16 2018
53 Samoa 99.12 2018
54 Montenegro 99.11 2018
55 North Macedonia 99.09 2020
56 Mexico 99.08 2020
57 Mongolia 99.07 2020
58 Seychelles 99.07 2018
59 Mauritius 99.04 2018
60 Uruguay 99.02 2019
61 Colombia 99.01 2020
62 Chile 99.01 2017
63 Sri Lanka 98.97 2019
64 Cayman Islands 98.91 2007
65 Panama 98.88 2019
66 Dominican Republic 98.84 2016
67 Hungary 98.80 2014
68 Ecuador 98.77 2020
69 Venezuela 98.76 2016
70 Palau 98.66 2015
71 Suriname 98.65 2018
72 Paraguay 98.64 2020
73 Vietnam 98.63 2019
74 Oman 98.62 2018
75 Israel 98.56 1983
76 South Africa 98.41 2019
77 Philippines 98.38 2019
78 El Salvador 98.35 2019
79 United Arab Emirates 98.16 2019
80 Thailand 98.14 2018
81 Cabo Verde 98.11 2015
82 Iran 98.10 2016
83 Equatorial Guinea 97.97 2010
84 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 97.96 1970
85 Bulgaria 97.87 2011
86 São Tomé and Principe 97.78 2018
87 Morocco 97.73 2018
88 Botswana 97.46 2013
89 Algeria 97.43 2018
90 Malaysia 96.78 2019
91 Guyana 96.69 2014
92 Jamaica 96.30 2014
93 Vanuatu 96.28 2018
94 Tunisia 96.21 2014
95 Honduras 96.08 2019
96 Eswatini 95.47 2018
97 Bahrain 95.45 2010
98 Myanmar 95.42 2019
99 Namibia 95.16 2018
100 Qatar 94.64 2017
101 Guatemala 94.60 2018
102 Bangladesh 94.46 2020
103 Iraq 93.50 2017
104 Eritrea 93.27 2018
105 Bhutan 93.09 2017
106 Ghana 92.49 2018
107 Lao PDR 92.46 2015
108 Syrian Arab Republic 92.45 2004
109 Nepal 92.39 2018
110 Puerto Rico 92.39 2017
111 Cambodia 92.21 2015
112 Zambia 92.09 2018
113 India 91.66 2018
114 Nicaragua 91.57 2015
115 Zimbabwe 90.43 2014
116 Gabon 89.78 2018
117 Uganda 89.40 2018
118 Burundi 88.22 2017
119 Egypt 88.19 2017
120 Togo 87.89 2019
121 Kenya 87.83 2018
122 Lesotho 86.63 2014
123 Rwanda 86.49 2018
124 Tanzania 85.76 2015
125 Cameroon 85.08 2018
126 Dem. Rep. Congo 84.99 2016
127 Belize 84.22 2000
128 Côte d'Ivoire 83.63 2019
129 Timor-Leste 83.54 2018
130 Haiti 82.99 2016
131 Congo 82.05 2018
132 Madagascar 79.85 2018
133 Comoros 78.27 2018
134 Angola 77.43 2014
135 Yemen 77.00 2004
136 Nigeria 75.03 2018
137 Sudan 73.00 2018
138 Malawi 72.94 2015
139 Ethiopia 72.75 2017
140 Pakistan 72.70 2019
141 Mozambique 70.91 2017
142 Senegal 69.48 2017
143 Papua New Guinea 67.90 2010
144 The Gambia 67.16 2015
145 Sierra Leone 66.65 2018
146 Mauritania 63.95 2017
147 Benin 60.95 2018
148 Guinea-Bissau 60.40 2014
149 Burkina Faso 58.87 2018
150 Afghanistan 55.93 2021
151 Liberia 55.40 2017
152 Guinea 53.94 2018
153 Mali 46.16 2020
154 Niger 43.46 2018
155 Central African Republic 38.27 2018
156 Chad 30.79 2016
157 Somalia 13.14 1972

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Development Relevance: Literacy rate is an outcome indicator to evaluate educational attainment. This data can predict the quality of future labor force and can be used in ensuring policies for life skills for men and women. It can be also used as a proxy instrument to see the effectiveness of education system; a high literacy rate suggests the capacity of an education system to provide a large population with opportunities to acquire literacy skills. The accumulated achievement of education is fundamental for further intellectual growth and social and economic development, although it doesn't necessarily ensure the quality of education. Literate women implies that they can seek and use information for the betterment of the health, nutrition and education of their household members. Literate women are also empowered to play a meaningful role.

Limitations and Exceptions: In practice, literacy is difficult to measure. Estimating literacy rates requires census or survey measurements under controlled conditions. Many countries report the number of literate people from self-reported data. Some use educational attainment data as a proxy but apply different lengths of school attendance or levels of completion. Ant there is a trend among recent national and international surveys toward using a direct reading test of literacy skills. Because definitions and methods of data collection differ across countries, data should be used cautiously.

Other Notes: Data retrieved via API in March 2019. For detailed information on the observation level (e.g. National Estimation, UIS Estimation, or Category not applicable), please visit UIS.Stat (http://data.uis.unesco.org/).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Literacy statistics for most countries cover the population ages 15 and older, but some include younger ages or are confined to age ranges that tend to inflate literacy rates. The youth literacy rate for ages 15-24 reflects recent progress in education. It measures the accumulated outcomes of primary education over the previous 10 years or so by indicating the proportion of the population who have passed through the primary education system and acquired basic literacy and numeracy skills. Generally, literacy also encompasses numeracy, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. Data on literacy are compiled by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics based on national censuses and household surveys and, for countries without recent literacy data, using the Global Age-Specific Literacy Projection Model (GALP). For detailed information, see www.uis.unesco.org.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual