# Adult literacy by nation — world ranking

Adult literacy ranked across 141 nations, highest to lowest. North Korea highest at 100.0% (2008). Each figure carries its publisher and observation year.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/rankings/literacy
Updated: 2026-08-10 (the education domain's last refresh)

Definition: Share of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a short simple statement about their everyday life. Many high-income countries stopped surveying this, so the figure is often missing rather than low.
Unit: %. Ordered highest to lowest — a ranking of figures, not a grading of nations. Ties share a rank.

Note: this table mixes vintages — each publisher carries a nation's latest available year, so observations run from 2000 to 2024. Every row shows its own.

## Ranking (141 nations)

| Rank | Nation | Value | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Korea | 100.0% | 2008 |
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% | 2022 |
| 3 | Russia | 99.9% | 2021 |
| 4 | San Marino | 99.9% | 2022 |
| 5 | Latvia | 99.9% | 2011 |
| 5 | Turkmenistan | 99.9% | 2022 |
| 7 | Estonia | 99.9% | 2011 |
| 8 | Belarus | 99.9% | 2019 |
| 9 | Armenia | 99.8% | 2023 |
| 10 | Lithuania | 99.8% | 2011 |
| 11 | Azerbaijan | 99.8% | 2023 |
| 12 | Kazakhstan | 99.7% | 2009 |
| 13 | Tajikistan | 99.7% | 2009 |
| 14 | Spain | 99.7% | 2021 |
| 15 | Georgia | 99.7% | 2024 |
| 16 | Ukraine | 99.4% | 2001 |
| 17 | Moldova | 99.4% | 2014 |
| 18 | Italy | 99.3% | 2019 |
| 19 | Serbia | 99.3% | 2022 |
| 20 | Kyrgyzstan | 99.2% | 2009 |
| 21 | Romania | 99.2% | 2021 |
| 22 | Argentina | 99.1% | 2020 |
| 23 | Uruguay | 98.9% | 2024 |
| 24 | United Arab Emirates | 98.8% | 2024 |
| 25 | Cyprus | 98.7% | 2011 |
| 26 | Mongolia | 98.6% | 2024 |
| 27 | Montenegro | 98.5% | 2018 |
| 28 | Philippines | 98.5% | 2020 |
| 29 | Bulgaria | 98.3% | 2011 |
| 30 | Croatia | 98.2% | 2001 |
| 31 | South Korea | 98.0% | 2008 |
| 32 | Palestine | 97.9% | 2024 |
| 33 | Saudi Arabia | 97.9% | 2024 |
| 34 | Qatar | 97.8% | 2014 |
| 35 | Albania | 97.7% | 2023 |
| 36 | Cuba | 97.7% | 2019 |
| 37 | Costa Rica | 97.4% | 2011 |
| 38 | Oman | 97.3% | 2022 |
| 39 | Türkiye | 97.3% | 2021 |
| 40 | Venezuela | 97.2% | 2017 |
| 41 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 97.0% | 2013 |
| 42 | China | 96.7% | 2020 |
| 43 | Bolivia | 96.7% | 2024 |
| 44 | Kuwait | 96.5% | 2020 |
| 45 | Chile | 96.4% | 2017 |
| 46 | Panama | 96.2% | 2024 |
| 47 | North Macedonia | 96.1% | 2002 |
| 47 | Vietnam | 96.1% | 2022 |
| 49 | Brunei | 96.1% | 2011 |
| 50 | Indonesia | 96.0% | 2020 |
| 51 | Malaysia | 95.8% | 2022 |
| 52 | Mexico | 95.6% | 2024 |
| 53 | Colombia | 95.3% | 2024 |
| 54 | Paraguay | 94.9% | 2024 |
| 55 | Brazil | 94.7% | 2024 |
| 56 | Portugal | 94.5% | 2011 |
| 57 | Jordan | 94.4% | 2024 |
| 58 | Syria | 94.4% | 2021 |
| 59 | Mauritius | 94.3% | 2023 |
| 60 | Dominican Republic | 94.0% | 2024 |
| 61 | Seychelles | 93.9% | 2010 |
| 62 | Greece | 93.9% | 2009 |
| 63 | Peru | 93.7% | 2024 |
| 64 | Myanmar | 93.5% | 2020 |
| 65 | Ecuador | 93.5% | 2024 |
| 66 | Malta | 93.3% | 2011 |
| 67 | Zimbabwe | 93.2% | 2019 |
| 68 | Suriname | 92.9% | 2012 |
| 69 | Sri Lanka | 92.7% | 2024 |
| 70 | Puerto Rico | 92.4% | 2017 |
| 71 | Lebanon | 92.0% | 2019 |
| 72 | South Africa | 91.2% | 2024 |
| 73 | Thailand | 91.1% | 2022 |
| 74 | Eswatini | 90.8% | 2022 |
| 75 | Lesotho | 90.4% | 2024 |
| 76 | El Salvador | 89.8% | 2024 |
| 77 | Iran | 88.9% | 2023 |
| 78 | Gabon | 88.9% | 2021 |
| 79 | Cape Verde | 88.5% | 2024 |
| 80 | Equatorial Guinea | 88.3% | 2000 |
| 81 | Honduras | 88.3% | 2024 |
| 82 | Vanuatu | 88.0% | 2023 |
| 83 | Belize | 87.9% | 2022 |
| 84 | Namibia | 87.6% | 2023 |
| 85 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 87.4% | 2019 |
| 86 | Nicaragua | 87.3% | 2014 |
| 87 | Papua New Guinea | 87.0% | 2022 |
| 88 | Tunisia | 86.3% | 2023 |
| 89 | Guyana | 85.6% | 2020 |
| 90 | Iraq | 84.1% | 2021 |
| 91 | Kenya | 82.2% | 2000 |
| 92 | Guatemala | 82.1% | 2024 |
| 93 | Botswana | 81.2% | 2003 |
| 94 | Egypt | 79.5% | 2022 |
| 95 | Bangladesh | 79.0% | 2022 |
| 96 | Rwanda | 78.8% | 2022 |
| 97 | Tanzania | 78.2% | 2022 |
| 98 | India | 78.2% | 2024 |
| 99 | Uganda | 77.0% | 2024 |
| 100 | Ghana | 76.5% | 2021 |
| 101 | Congo | 76.1% | 2005 |
| 102 | Laos | 75.6% | 2023 |
| 103 | Comoros | 75.6% | 2021 |
| 104 | Algeria | 75.1% | 2008 |
| 105 | Madagascar | 74.7% | 2021 |
| 106 | Togo | 72.6% | 2022 |
| 107 | Cameroon | 72.6% | 2018 |
| 108 | Cambodia | 71.9% | 2021 |
| 109 | Zambia | 71.8% | 2024 |
| 110 | Burundi | 71.3% | 2020 |
| 111 | Nigeria | 70.4% | 2024 |
| 112 | Malawi | 70.2% | 2020 |
| 113 | Timor-Leste | 69.4% | 2022 |
| 114 | Nepal | 68.7% | 2019 |
| 115 | DR Congo | 68.5% | 2023 |
| 116 | Angola | 68.2% | 2023 |
| 117 | Haiti | 68.0% | 2017 |
| 118 | Bhutan | 64.9% | 2022 |
| 119 | Eritrea | 64.7% | 2008 |
| 120 | Morocco | 64.3% | 2014 |
| 121 | Guinea-Bissau | 63.9% | 2022 |
| 122 | Mozambique | 61.7% | 2022 |
| 123 | Ethiopia | 60.5% | 2022 |
| 124 | Mauritania | 59.5% | 2020 |
| 125 | Liberia | 59.4% | 2010 |
| 126 | Pakistan | 58.9% | 2021 |
| 127 | Somalia | 54.1% | 2022 |
| 128 | Sudan | 53.5% | 2008 |
| 129 | Gambia | 51.6% | 2021 |
| 130 | Benin | 51.4% | 2022 |
| 131 | Senegal | 50.4% | 2023 |
| 132 | Ivory Coast | 50.0% | 2021 |
| 133 | Sierra Leone | 43.6% | 2019 |
| 134 | Central African Republic | 42.4% | 2019 |
| 135 | Burkina Faso | 41.6% | 2023 |
| 136 | Guinea | 39.6% | 2018 |
| 137 | Afghanistan | 37.3% | 2021 |
| 138 | Mali | 35.6% | 2024 |
| 139 | Niger | 35.6% | 2022 |
| 140 | Chad | 30.6% | 2019 |
| 141 | South Sudan | 26.8% | 2008 |

## No data (45 nations)

These nations publish no figure for this indicator in the sources below. Absence is a fact about the world's statistical apparatus, not a zero — they are not ranked.

- Andorra
- Antarctica — Antarctica has no permanent population and no national government — it is administered under the Antarctic Treaty. No statistical agency compiles national indicators for it, so there is nothing here to report.
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Belgium
- Canada
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Falkland Islands — The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory, administered by the United Kingdom; sovereignty is disputed by Argentina. They are not a separate reporting entity in World Bank datasets.
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Southern and Antarctic Lands — The French Southern and Antarctic Lands have no permanent civilian population. They are administered from Réunion as an overseas territory of France and are not a separate reporting entity in international datasets.
- Germany
- Greenland
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kosovo
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Northern Cyprus — Northern Cyprus is recognised as a state by Türkiye alone. It is not a member of the United Nations or the World Bank, and does not appear as a separate entity in the datasets these indicators are drawn from.
- Norway
- Poland
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somaliland — Somaliland declared independence in 1991 and has not been recognised by the United Nations or any member state. Where its figures are collected at all, they are reported within Somalia's.
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan — Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, and is excluded from the World Bank and UN series that supply most of this dossier. Its own statistical agencies publish extensively.
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Vatican City — Vatican City has a resident population of a few hundred and does not compile the economic and social series these indicators are drawn from.
- Yemen

The same figures appear identically in the dossier's Education tab and its Society tab.

## Sources

- Education statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://uis.unesco.org

Citation template: Terralore, "Adult literacy by nation — world ranking", terralore.co/rankings/literacy, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.