Adult Literacy
Share of people aged 15+ who can read and write. Gapminder, 2016–2023.
↓ Download CSV 📊 Detailed results dashboard ↗ ⤓ Download dashboard
Avg (2023)
46.4%
+4.6pp vs 2022
Improving
3
of 60 tracked
Declining
30
period over period
Stable
14
±0.5pp band
Adult literacy rate
Interactive — choose a period, search a country, switch between bars, table and map.
azenha.ai/bulldozer
Trend over time
Group average by period, 2016–2023.
AsiaEuropeAmericasAfrica
azenha.ai/bulldozer
Movers
Biggest period-over-period changes.
Top risers
| Entity | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 99.8% | +99.8pp |
| 🇼🇫 Wallis et Futuna | 99.8% | +99.8pp |
| 🇦🇱 Albania | 97.7% | +97.7pp |
| 🇳🇷 Nauru | 96.6% | +96.6pp |
| 🇵🇦 Panama | 96.1% | +96.1pp |
Top fallers
| Entity | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 🇹🇰 Tokelau | 0% | -100.0pp |
| 🇹🇻 Tuvalu | 0% | -100.0pp |
| 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 0% | -100.0pp |
| 🇸🇲 San Marino | 0% | -99.9pp |
| 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | 0% | -99.9pp |
By group
Change by group, latest period.
Africa +8.4pp
Americas +0.80pp
Asia +0.40pp
Europe -0.40pp
| Group | Members | Avg | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 4 | 99.2% | -0.40pp |
| Americas | 10 | 93.1% | +0.80pp |
| Asia | 11 | 92.1% | +0.40pp |
| Africa | 6 | 73.7% | +8.4pp |
Adult Literacy — full ranking
Every entity in this dataset, in HTML. The interactive panel above shows the same numbers; this is the one that survives without JavaScript.
| # | Entity | Adult literacy rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | 99.8% | 0.00pp |
| 2 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 99.8% | — |
| 3 | 🇼🇫 Wallis et Futuna | 99.8% | — |
| 4 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | 99.6% | 0.00pp |
| 5 | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 98.9% | 0.00pp |
| 6 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | 98.6% | -0.10pp |
| 7 | 🇦🇪 UAE | 98.1% | -0.20pp |
| 8 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 97.9% | 0.00pp |
| 9 | 🇦🇱 Albania | 97.7% | — |
| 10 | 🇳🇷 Nauru | 96.6% | — |
| 11 | 🇵🇦 Panama | 96.1% | — |
| 12 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 95.8% | 0.00pp |
| 13 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | 95.6% | — |
| 14 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 95.5% | +0.20pp |
| 15 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | 94.9% | — |
| 16 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 94.6% | +0.20pp |
| 17 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | 94.3% | +0.60pp |
| 18 | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | 94.3% | — |
| 19 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 92.7% | +0.20pp |
| 20 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 89.9% | +0.50pp |
| 21 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 88.9% | +0.30pp |
| 22 | 🇻🇺 Vanuatu | 88% | — |
| 23 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | 87.6% | — |
| 24 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | 87.1% | -1.2pp |
| 25 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | 86.3% | — |
| 26 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | 83% | 0.00pp |
| 27 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | 82% | +2.0pp |
| 28 | 🇮🇳 India | 81.7% | +5.4pp |
| 29 | 🇱🇦 Lao | 75.6% | — |
| 30 | 🇸🇳 Senegal | 50.4% | — |
| 31 | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | 41.4% | +0.50pp |