Developed nations almost always have an adult literacy rate of 96% or better. The following visualization shows illiteracy rates by race for the period 1870-1979. The countries with the lowest literacy rates are largely located within the African continent. The rate varies throughout the world, with developed nations having a rate of 99.2% (2013), South and West Asia having 70.2% (2015), and sub-Saharan Africa at 64.0% (2015). The government of these countries has also placed great emphasis on early childhood education, ensuring that children receive the best possible start in their education journey. It is also worth noting that European countries dominate the top of the list, with many of them having a literacy rate of 99% or above. Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above - Data Each task is composed of several questions and the child must correctly answer all questions to successfully complete the task. In particular, large cross-country assessment surveys have been developed to overcome the challenges of producing comparable literacy data. The visualization shows, in two panels, a side-by-side comparison of long-term trends in school attendance and literacy. Afghanistan 38.17% 9. This is due mainly to two confounding factors: Many countries do not report their literacy every year, and many countries have mismatched definitions as to what qualifies as literacy. South Sudan has the third lowest literacy rate globally, with a literacy rate of 31.98%. Countries With the Highest High School Graduate Rates Literacy rate, 2020 - Country rankings: The average for 2020 based on 28 countries was 89.34 percent.The highest value was in Kazakhstan: 99.8 percent and the lowest value was in Mali: 30.76 percent. This is in contrast to richer regions, such as Europe, where the expansion of education started earlier and as a consequence changes have been mainly vertical (e.g. In most cases, the categories covering self-reports (green and orange) correspond to estimates of literacy that rely on answers provided to a simple yes/no question asking people if they can read and write. This interactive map shows how the literacy rates varies between countries around the world. The MICS6 Foundational Learning Skills module measures the learning outcomes at Grade 2 and 3 levels in numeracy and reading (SDG4.1.1.a). ICT skills are calculated by the simple ratio of the number of individuals in a demographic group who used a certain ICT skill, divided by the total number of people in that demographic group. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The literacy rate in India is 72.23%, making it one of the countries with the lowest literacy rate in the world. The literacy rate in Kenya is 78.02%, making it one of the countries with the lowest literacy rate in the world. You . In contrast, around two in three of the young men and women in Turks and Caicos Island did so. This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. The literacy rate in Mexico is 94.55%, making it one of the countries with the lowest literacy rate in the world. The rate varies throughout the world, with developed nations having a rate of 99.2% (2013), South and West Asia having 70.2% (2015), and sub . Most Recent Year. The education system focuses on providing quality education, and the government invests heavily in education to improve the education system. [1] As the researcher Jeremiah Dittmar explains, this approach only gives a lower bound of the estimates because the number of people who could read was higher than the number who could write. The Mass Media and ICT modules in MICS6 provide information on mens and womens use of ICT skills in nine activities ranging from copying or moving a folder to writing a computer program. North Korea has the fifth highest literacy rate globally, with a literacy rate of 100%. Poverty and illiteracy tend to go hand-in-hand. Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above), Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above), Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI), Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24), Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24), Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24), Trained teachers in primary education (% of total teachers), Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort), International Comparison Program & Purchasing Power Parity, International Household Survey Network (IHSN), Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building. There are also several countries with a literacy rate of 100%, including Andorra, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, North Korea, Norway, and Uzbekistan. The Swedish government also prioritizes early childhood education and has implemented policies to improve the educational outcomes for immigrant and refugee students. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. Global Well-being since 1820 Literacy rate in 1900: 21% Literacy rate in 1960: 42% According to the World Bank: Literacy rate in 2015: 86%. The education attainment rate is 38.60%. The education attainment rate is 62.30%. The country faces significant challenges in providing quality education to its citizens, including poverty, inequality, and inadequate educational infrastructure. The education system focuses on providing quality education, and the government invests heavily in education to improve the education system. Young generations are better educated than ever before. Since estimates of signed documents tend to rely on small samples (e.g. Norway has the sixth highest literacy rate, with a literacy rate of 100%. The country has an intense focus on education, which begins as soon as a child turns six. World Bank - 7/9/2021 7:01:00 PM Since 2012, the World Bank has supported data literacy and data use in more than 30 countries. Across the 34 countries and territories with available data, the median share of young men with ICT skills is 20 per cent, whereas the median share of young women with ICT skills is only 12 per cent. In all countries, a higher share of children from the top wealth quintile have foundational numeracy skills compared with children from the bottom wealth quintile, with a median gap of 16 percentage points. However, while the gender gap is almost non-existent in Turkmenistan, in Lesotho a much higher share of girls demonstrate foundational reading skills than boys, with a gap close to 20 percentage points. However, the government has implemented several initiatives to increase access to education, including free schooling for children from disadvantaged families. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution. Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - Country Israel has a highly developed education system with a large number of universities and technical colleges, which has contributed to its high literacy rate. World literacy rate for 2019 was 86.66%, a 0.38% increase from 2018. Over the course of the 19th century global literacy more than doubled. Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) . Over the past several decades, global literacy rates have significantly increased. Today, in contrast, the global estimates of literacy and school attendance are above 80%, and the inequality between world regions while still existing is much lower. . There is substantial cross-country variation, with recent estimates covering all four measurement methods. The literacy rate in the United Kingdom is 99%, reflecting the country's long-standing commitment to education. The literacy rate in the Philippines is 96.62%, making it one of the most literate countries. Norway 100% 7. Global Well-being since 1820, published in 2014. Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. Progress and poverty in early modern Europe. The literacy rate in Norway is 100%, making it the sixth country with the highest literacy rate in the world. Literacy in a Digital World For a full list of the best available information on literacy rates around the world, see the table below. Literacy rates, adult female, one-sentence test (DHS) vs self-reports (UNESCO) Literacy rates, adult male, one-sentence test (DHS) vs self-reports (UNESCO) Youth literacy rate, female. As we can see, literacy rates tend to be much higher in countries where people tend to have more years of education; and as average years of education go up in a country, literacy rates also go up. The Andorran government has managed to provide free schooling up to the secondary level of education. At the national level, the Data Use and Literacy Program works with: Officials in national statistical offices, line ministries, and national and subnational . Most of the countries with the lowest literacy are located in South Asia, West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africaregions which also include most of the poorest countries in the world. Here we provide evidence of literacy gaps across races in the US. When census data is not available, a common method used to estimate literacy is to calculate the share of people who could sign official documents (e.g. Education attainment is also high in the US, with 90.90% of the population having completed secondary education or higher. 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. Finland has a highly developed education system and offers free education to all citizens. Additionally, their education systems are designed to cater to the needs of all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic background or gender, which helps to ensure that everyone receives an equal opportunity to learn and become literate. Despite this, there are enormous disparities across countries. The chart shows global literacy rates among adults since 1800. Foundational readingskills are divided into three categories: 1) wordrecognition (correctly reading 90 per cent of words in astory), 2) literal questions (replying correctly to all threeliteral questions), and 3) inferential (replying correctly tobothof two inferential questions). A part of Southwestern Europe, its government directs by law that every child between the ages of 6 and 16 is required to submit to compulsory attendance within its school systems. Country. UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Still, many nations are struggling with the provision of educational resources to better their populaces, building the necessary infrastructure it requires and ensuring regular enrollment of students within their schools. citizens from many of the countries constituting the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries can lay claim to having some of the highest access to tertiary level educational opportunities in the world. Compared to the data on literacy we have less information on numeracy skills in the world today. We highlighted above the fact that most low and middle income countries feature large differences in literacy rates across generations. Total is the percentage of the population age 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. The visualization shows specifically how remarkably large these differences are in Northern Africa and the Middle East. Additionally, educational inequality has increased due to conflict, resulting in fewer resources available for quality education in certain regions. ICT skillsICT skills are calculated by the simple ratio of the number of individuals in a demographic group who used a certain ICT skill, divided by the total number of people in that demographic group. 100%. The expansion of literacy in early-industrialized countries helped reduce within-country inequalities. Direct country-to-country comparisons of literacy tend to be inexact. Males over the age of 15 have a literacy rate of 90%, while females fall slightly behind at 82.7 percent. 12 As Buringh and Van Zanden show, their estimates based on book consumption are different, but still fairly close to alternative estimates based on signed documents. The literacy rate in Malaysia is 94.64%, ranking the country one hundred-eighth in the world, and making it one of the higher-performing countries in terms of literacy. Clearly this number has been "engineered". Benin has the ninth lowest literacy rate globally, with a literacy rate of 38.45%. The next chart shows this by plotting changes in literacy rates and average years of schooling. Indeed, other methods have been proposed, in order to rely on historical estimates of people who could read. All countries on this list have nationwide literacy rates above 99%, with Ukraine and Uzbekistan both clocking in at 100%.. One country on this list that's worth touching on is Cuba. Millenium Development Goals Indicators - Millenium Development - UNSD More than 4 out of 5 people are now able to read. But as this Statista graph shows, strong regional inequalities remain. Global Well-being since 1820, share of people who could sign official documents, literacy rates from estimated per capita book consumption, Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above), Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24), Charting the Rise of the West: Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A long-term perspective from the sixth through eighteenth centuries, Chapter 6 of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report (2006), http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/step/about, Progress and poverty in early modern Europe.