This is a list of countries by literacy rate. The global

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...

rate for all people aged 15 and above is 86.3%. The global literacy rate for all males is 90.0%, and the rate for all females is 82.7%. The rate varies throughout the world, with

developed nations A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...

having a rate of 99.2% (2013),

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

West Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes ...

having 70.2% (2015), and

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

at 64.0% (2015). Over 75% of the world's 781 million illiterate adults are found in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

, and

, and women represent almost two-thirds of all illiterate adults globally.

List of UN member states by age group and gender disparity

Data published by UNESCO using the following definitions:

Youth: Percentage of people aged 15 to 24 years who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, "literacy" also encompasses "numeracy", the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations.
Adult: Percentage of the population aged 25 years and over who can both read and write, with understanding a short simple statement on his/her everyday life. Generally, "literacy" also encompasses "numeracy", the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations.
Elderly: Percentage of the population aged 65 years and over who can both read and write, with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, "literacy" also encompasses "numeracy", the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations.
Gender Parity Index (GPI): The gender parity index (GPI) of the youth literacy rate is the ratio of the female to male literacy rates of the population aged 15 to 24 years. A GPI value between 0.97 and 1.03 is usually interpreted to indicate gender parity.

* indicates "Literacy in COUNTRY or TERRITORY" or "Education in COUNTRY or TERRITORY" links.

List of UN member and observer states by adult literacy rate

* indicates "Literacy in COUNTRY or TERRITORY" or "Education in COUNTRY or TERRITORY" links.

List of other states and territories

Notes

References

External links

World Bank – Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)
for historical use. {{Population country lists