List of Countries by Literacy Rate
Literacy is an essential component of human development, as it enables individuals to access and comprehend written information, communicate effectively, and participate in their communities. Countries with high literacy rates often have better education systems, stronger economies, and more stable societies. In this blog post, we will explore the list of countries by literacy rate and the factors that contribute to high literacy rates.
Defining Literacy
Before we dive into the list of countries by literacy rate, it’s important to understand what we mean by literacy. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), literacy is “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute, and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.” This definition encompasses more than just the ability to read and write; it includes a range of skills related to language, numeracy, and critical thinking.
Measuring Literacy Rates
Literacy rates are typically measured as the percentage of the population aged 15 and above who can read and write. The measurement includes both males and females, and the rates are calculated based on data from censuses, surveys, and administrative records.
The countries with the highest literacy rates are those that invest heavily in education and provide equal access to education for all citizens. In these countries, education is often considered a basic human right, and the government is responsible for ensuring that all citizens have access to it.
Top 10 Countries with the Highest Literacy Rates
- Finland – 100%
- Norway – 100%
- Luxembourg – 100%
- Andorra – 100%
- Greenland – 100%
- Liechtenstein – 100%
- Uzbekistan – 100%
- Latvia – 99.89%
- Estonia – 99.82%
- Lithuania – 99.82%
It’s worth noting that the top ten countries on this list are all former Soviet Union republics. These countries have a long history of prioritizing education, with free education being a constitutional right. In addition, these countries place a high value on education, with strong government support for schools and teachers.
Outside of the former Soviet Union, there are many countries with high literacy rates. Japan, for example, has a literacy rate of 99%, while South Korea has a literacy rate of 97.9%. In the United States, the literacy rate is estimated to be around 99%, while in the United Kingdom and Canada, the literacy rate is also around 99%.
Top 10 Countries with the Least Literacy Rates
- Niger – 30%
- Guinea – 30.47%
- South Sudan -31.98%
- Mali – 33.07%
- Central African Republic – 36.75%
- Burkina Faso – 37.75%
- Somalia – 37.8%
- Afghanistan – 38.17%
- Benin – 38.45%
- Chad – 40.02%
The relationship between literacy and poverty
The relationship between literacy and poverty is complex and multifaceted. While literacy is not the only factor that contributes to poverty, there is a strong correlation between the two.
Low literacy levels can perpetuate poverty by limiting access to education, employment opportunities, and social mobility. This can create a cycle of poverty, where individuals are unable to break free from their circumstances due to a lack of literacy skills.
In many countries, poverty and low literacy rates are closely linked. Children living in poverty are less likely to have access to books and educational resources, and may be required to work or care for siblings rather than attend school. This can result in lower literacy rates and limit their opportunities for social and economic advancement.
Limited literacy skills can also make it difficult to find employment or earn a living wage. In many industries, literacy is a basic requirement for even entry-level positions. Without adequate literacy skills, individuals may be unable to find work or earn a living wage, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.
In addition, low literacy rates can impact health outcomes, as individuals with limited literacy skills may have difficulty understanding medical instructions or accessing healthcare resources. This can result in higher rates of illness and disease, further contributing to poverty.
On the other hand, improving literacy rates can have a significant impact on reducing poverty. By providing access to education and resources, individuals can develop the skills and knowledge necessary to break the cycle of poverty and improve their economic and social prospects.
Governments, organizations, and individuals can all play a role in addressing the link between literacy and poverty. This may include investing in education and literacy programs, providing resources and support to low-income communities, and addressing social and economic disparities that contribute to poverty.
Overall, improving literacy rates is an important step in addressing poverty and promoting social and economic development. By recognizing the link between literacy and poverty, and taking steps to address this link, individuals and communities can work towards a brighter future for all.
Factors That Contribute to High Literacy Rates
Several factors contribute to high literacy rates in a country. Some of the most important factors include:
Access to Education: Countries with high literacy rates generally have strong education systems that provide equal access to education for all citizens. This includes access to schools, teachers, and educational resources.
Government Investment: Governments in countries with high literacy rates often invest heavily in education, providing funding for schools, teacher training, and educational resources.
Cultural Values: In some countries, education is highly valued, and there is a cultural expectation that all children should attend school and learn to read and write.
Economic Development: Countries with high literacy rates often have strong economies, which can provide the resources necessary to support education systems.
Challenges to Achieving High Literacy Rates
Achieving high literacy rates can be challenging for many countries, particularly in developing nations. Some of the key challenges to achieving high literacy rates include:
Lack of access to education: In many countries, particularly in developing nations, access to education is limited, particularly for marginalized groups. This can make it difficult for individuals to receive the education they need to develop literacy skills.
Poverty: Poverty is often closely linked to low literacy rates. Children living in poverty may not have access to books or educational resources, and may be required to work or care for siblings rather than attend school.
Limited resources: Even when education is available, limited resources can make it difficult to provide adequate education to all students. This may result in overcrowded classrooms, lack of materials, and poorly trained teachers.
Language barriers: In many countries, particularly those with diverse populations, language barriers can make it difficult for students to develop literacy skills. If a student speaks a different language than the one used in the classroom, they may struggle to understand the curriculum and develop strong literacy skills.
Cultural barriers: In some cultures, particularly those with strong traditions or beliefs, education may not be valued as highly as other pursuits. This can make it difficult to encourage individuals to prioritize education and develop strong literacy skills.
Gender inequality: In many countries, particularly in developing nations, gender inequality can impact literacy rates. Girls may be less likely to attend school than boys, particularly if they are required to work or care for siblings.
Conflict and instability: Conflict and political instability can disrupt education systems, making it difficult for students to attend school and teachers to provide adequate education. This can result in lower literacy rates and may make it more difficult to develop strong education systems in the long term.
Overall, achieving high literacy rates requires a concerted effort to address these challenges, particularly in developing nations. Governments, organizations, and individuals can all play a role in promoting education and literacy, and in providing the resources and support necessary to ensure that all individuals have the opportunity to develop strong literacy skills.
Literacy Rate by Country 2023
| Rank | Country | Literacy Rate | Population 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 100% | 5,545,475 |
| 2 | Norway | 100% | 5,474,360 |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 100% | 654,768 |
| 4 | Andorra | 100% | 80,088 |
| 5 | Greenland | 100% | 56,643 |
| 6 | Liechtenstein | 100% | 39,584 |
| 7 | Uzbekistan | 100% | 35,163,944 |
| 8 | Latvia | 99.89% | 1,830,211 |
| 9 | Estonia | 99.82% | 1,322,765 |
| 10 | Lithuania | 99.82% | 2,718,352 |
| 11 | Azerbaijan | 99.81% | 10,412,651 |
| 12 | Guam | 99.79% | 172,952 |
| 13 | Kazakhstan | 99.79% | 19,606,633 |
| 14 | Poland | 99.79% | 41,026,067 |
| 15 | Tajikistan | 99.78% | 10,143,543 |
| 16 | Armenia | 99.77% | 2,777,970 |
| 17 | Ukraine | 99.76% | 36,744,634 |
| 18 | Georgia | 99.76% | 3,728,282 |
| 19 | Belarus | 99.72% | 9,498,238 |
| 20 | Russia | 99.72% | 144,444,359 |
| 21 | Slovenia | 99.71% | 2,119,675 |
| 22 | Cuba | 99.71% | 11,194,449 |
| 23 | Barbados | 99.7% | 281,995 |
| 24 | Turkmenistan | 99.69% | 6,516,100 |
| 25 | Slovakia | 99.6% | 5,795,199 |
| 26 | Palau | 99.52% | 18,058 |
| 27 | Kyrgyzstan | 99.5% | 6,735,347 |
| 28 | Tonga | 99.4% | 107,773 |
| 29 | Hungary | 99.38% | 10,156,239 |
| 30 | Maldives | 99.32% | 521,021 |
| 31 | Croatia | 99.27% | 4,008,617 |
| 32 | Moldova | 99.24% | 3,435,931 |
| 33 | Cyprus | 99.06% | 1,260,138 |
| 34 | Italy | 99.02% | 58,870,762 |
| 35 | Samoa | 99.02% | 225,681 |
| 36 | United States | 99% | 339,996,563 |
| 37 | Japan | 99% | 123,294,513 |
| 38 | Germany | 99% | 83,294,633 |
| 39 | United Kingdom | 99% | 67,736,802 |
| 40 | France | 99% | 64,756,584 |
| 41 | Canada | 99% | 38,781,291 |
| 42 | Australia | 99% | 26,439,111 |
| 43 | Netherlands | 99% | 17,618,299 |
| 44 | Belgium | 99% | 11,686,140 |
| 45 | Sweden | 99% | 10,612,086 |
| 46 | Switzerland | 99% | 8,796,669 |
| 47 | Denmark | 99% | 5,910,913 |
| 48 | New Zealand | 99% | 5,228,100 |
| 49 | Ireland | 99% | 5,056,935 |
| 50 | Iceland | 99% | 375,318 |
| 51 | Monaco | 99% | 36,297 |
| 52 | Saint Pierre And Miquelon | 99% | 5,840 |
| 53 | Trinidad And Tobago | 98.97% | 1,534,937 |
| 54 | Antigua And Barbuda | 98.95% | 94,298 |
| 55 | Cayman Islands | 98.87% | 69,310 |
| 56 | Romania | 98.76% | 19,892,812 |
| 57 | Montenegro | 98.72% | 626,485 |
| 58 | Bosnia And Herzegovina | 98.49% | 3,210,847 |
| 59 | Uruguay | 98.44% | 3,423,108 |
| 60 | Bulgaria | 98.39% | 6,687,717 |
| 61 | Mongolia | 98.37% | 3,447,157 |
| 62 | Marshall Islands | 98.27% | 41,996 |
| 63 | Spain | 98.11% | 47,519,628 |
| 64 | Argentina | 98.09% | 45,773,884 |
| 65 | Jordan | 98.01% | 11,337,052 |
| 66 | Serbia | 98% | 7,149,077 |
| 67 | Austria | 98% | 8,958,960 |
| 68 | French Polynesia | 98% | 308,872 |
| 69 | Bermuda | 98% | 64,069 |
| 70 | Turks And Caicos Islands | 98% | 46,062 |
| 71 | South Korea | 97.97% | 51,784,059 |
| 72 | North Macedonia | 97.84% | 2,085,679 |
| 73 | Saint Kitts And Nevis | 97.8% | 47,755 |
| 74 | British Virgin Islands | 97.8% | 31,538 |
| 75 | Qatar | 97.76% | 2,716,391 |
| 76 | Costa Rica | 97.65% | 5,212,173 |
| 77 | Albania | 97.55% | 2,832,439 |
| 78 | Aruba | 97.52% | 106,277 |
| 79 | American Samoa | 97.34% | 43,914 |
| 80 | Israel | 97.1% | 9,174,520 |
| 81 | Northern Mariana Islands | 97% | 49,796 |
| 82 | Montserrat | 97% | 4,386 |
| 83 | New Caledonia | 96.94% | 292,991 |
| 84 | Singapore | 96.77% | 6,014,723 |
| 85 | Palestine | 96.67% | 5,371,230 |
| 86 | Brunei | 96.66% | 452,524 |
| 87 | Chile | 96.63% | 19,629,590 |
| 88 | Philippines | 96.62% | 117,337,368 |
| 89 | China | 96.36% | 1,425,671,352 |
| 90 | Kuwait | 96.12% | 4,310,108 |
| 91 | Taiwan | 96.1% | 23,923,276 |
| 92 | Grenada | 96% | 126,183 |
| 93 | San Marino | 96% | 33,642 |
| 94 | Bahrain | 95.72% | 1,485,509 |
| 95 | Turkey | 95.69% | 85,816,199 |
| 96 | Saint Vincent And The Grenadines | 95.63% | 103,698 |
| 97 | Bahamas | 95.6% | 412,623 |
| 98 | Suriname | 95.54% | 623,236 |
| 99 | Paraguay | 95.54% | 6,861,524 |
| 100 | Indonesia | 95.44% | 277,534,122 |
| 101 | Portugal | 95.43% | 10,247,605 |
| 102 | Venezuela | 95.4% | 28,838,499 |
| 103 | Seychelles | 95.32% | 107,660 |
| 104 | Greece | 95.29% | 10,341,277 |
| 105 | Equatorial Guinea | 95.2% | 1,714,671 |
| 106 | Bolivia | 95.14% | 12,388,571 |
| 107 | Panama | 95.04% | 4,468,087 |
| 108 | Cook Islands | 95% | 17,044 |
| 109 | Anguilla | 95% | 15,899 |
| 110 | Niue | 95% | 1,935 |
| 111 | Saudi Arabia | 94.84% | 36,947,025 |
| 112 | Malaysia | 94.64% | 34,308,525 |
| 113 | South Africa | 94.6% | 60,414,495 |
| 114 | Colombia | 94.58% | 52,085,168 |
| 115 | Mexico | 94.55% | 128,455,567 |
| 116 | Ecuador | 94.52% | 18,190,484 |
| 117 | Vietnam | 94.51% | 98,858,950 |
| 118 | Peru | 94.37% | 34,352,719 |
| 119 | Malta | 94.07% | 535,064 |
| 120 | Lebanon | 94.05% | 5,353,930 |
| 121 | Dominica | 94% | 73,040 |
| 122 | Thailand | 93.98% | 71,801,279 |
| 123 | Oman | 93.97% | 4,644,384 |
| 124 | Fiji | 93.7% | 936,375 |
| 125 | Hong Kong | 93.5% | 7,491,609 |
| 126 | Puerto Rico | 93.33% | 3,260,314 |
| 127 | Myanmar | 93.09% | 54,577,997 |
| 128 | United Arab Emirates | 92.99% | 9,516,871 |
| 129 | Sri Lanka | 92.61% | 21,893,579 |
| 130 | Brazil | 92.59% | 216,422,446 |
| 131 | Dominican Republic | 92.47% | 11,332,972 |
| 132 | Sao Tome And Principe | 91.75% | 231,856 |
| 133 | Libya | 91.39% | 6,888,388 |
| 134 | Namibia | 90.82% | 2,604,172 |
| 135 | Mauritius | 90.62% | 1,300,557 |
| 136 | Saint Lucia | 90.1% | 180,251 |
| 137 | Micronesia | 89% | 115,224 |
| 138 | Jamaica | 88.5% | 2,825,544 |
| 139 | Cape Verde | 88.47% | 598,682 |
| 140 | Honduras | 88.42% | 10,593,798 |
| 141 | Botswana | 88.22% | 2,675,352 |
| 142 | El Salvador | 87.65% | 6,364,943 |
| 143 | Guyana | 87.54% | 813,834 |
| 144 | Eswatini | 87.47% | 1,210,822 |
| 145 | Iran | 87.17% | 89,172,767 |
| 146 | Zimbabwe | 86.87% | 16,665,409 |
| 147 | Syria | 86.3% | 23,227,014 |
| 148 | Burundi | 85.5% | 13,238,559 |
| 149 | Zambia | 85.12% | 20,569,737 |
| 150 | Vanuatu | 85.06% | 334,506 |
| 151 | Solomon Islands | 84.1% | 740,424 |
| 152 | Gabon | 83.24% | 2,436,566 |
| 153 | Belize | 82.78% | 410,825 |
| 154 | Nicaragua | 82.47% | 7,046,310 |
| 155 | Tunisia | 81.05% | 12,458,223 |
| 156 | Tanzania | 80.36% | 67,438,106 |
| 157 | Gibraltar | 80% | 32,688 |
| 158 | Laos | 79.87% | 7,633,779 |
| 159 | Iraq | 79.72% | 45,504,560 |
| 160 | Algeria | 79.61% | 45,606,480 |
| 161 | Lesotho | 79.36% | 2,330,318 |
| 162 | Guatemala | 79.07% | 18,092,026 |
| 163 | Cambodia | 78.35% | 16,944,826 |
| 164 | Comoros | 78.14% | 852,075 |
| 165 | Kenya | 78.02% | 55,100,586 |
| 166 | Dr Congo | 77.22% | 102,262,808 |
| 167 | Ghana | 76.58% | 34,121,985 |
| 168 | Egypt | 75.84% | 112,716,598 |
| 169 | Cameroon | 74.99% | 28,647,293 |
| 170 | Eritrea | 73.85% | 3,748,901 |
| 171 | Uganda | 73.81% | 48,582,334 |
| 172 | India | 72.23% | 1,428,627,663 |
| 173 | Morocco | 71.71% | 37,840,044 |
| 174 | Rwanda | 71.24% | 14,094,683 |
| 175 | Angola | 71.16% | 36,684,202 |
| 176 | Yemen | 69.96% | 34,449,825 |
| 177 | Djibouti | 67.9% | 1,136,455 |
| 178 | Togo | 66.54% | 9,053,799 |
| 179 | Malawi | 65.96% | 20,931,751 |
| 180 | Nepal | 64.66% | 30,896,590 |
| 181 | Madagascar | 64.66% | 30,325,732 |
| 182 | Bhutan | 63.91% | 787,424 |
| 183 | Papua New Guinea | 63.43% | 10,329,931 |
| 184 | Bangladesh | 61.49% | 172,954,319 |
| 185 | Haiti | 60.69% | 11,724,763 |
| 186 | Guinea Bissau | 59.77% | 2,150,842 |
| 187 | Nigeria | 59.57% | 223,804,632 |
| 188 | Mozambique | 58.84% | 33,897,354 |
| 189 | Sudan | 58.6% | 48,109,006 |
| 190 | Pakistan | 56.44% | 240,485,658 |
| 191 | Senegal | 55.62% | 17,763,163 |
| 192 | Gambia | 55.57% | 2,773,168 |
| 193 | Mauritania | 52.12% | 4,862,989 |
| 194 | Wallis And Futuna | 50% | 11,502 |
| 195 | Ethiopia | 49.03% | 126,527,060 |
| 196 | Sierra Leone | 48.43% | 8,791,092 |
| 197 | Liberia | 47.6% | 5,418,377 |
| 198 | Ivory Coast | 43.27% | 28,873,034 |
| 199 | Chad | 40.02% | 18,278,568 |
| 200 | Benin | 38.45% | 13,712,828 |
| 201 | Afghanistan | 38.17% | 42,239,854 |
| 202 | Somalia | 37.8% | 18,143,378 |
| 203 | Burkina Faso | 37.75% | 23,251,485 |
| 204 | Central African Republic | 36.75% | 5,742,315 |
| 205 | Mali | 33.07% | 23,293,698 |
| 206 | South Sudan | 31.98% | 11,088,796 |
| 207 | Guinea | 30.47% | 14,190,612 |
| 208 | Niger | 30% | 27,202,843 |
- 4.6.2. Adult literacy rate, population 15+ eyars, both sexes – UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
- LITERACY RATES
- Literacy – CIA World Factbook
- Literacy rate, adult total (%of people ages 15 and above) – World Bank
- Adult literacy rates, 2015 – Our World in Data
- Adult literacy rates, 2019 – Our World in Data
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