Brazil vs Mexico: Literate and illiterate world population

Brazil

5.3%

in 2024

Mexico

4.5%

in 2024

Brazil rank

74th

Mexico rank

77th

Literate and illiterate world population over time

Brazil currently reports 5.3% against 4.5% in Mexico, a difference of 0.8%.

That makes Brazil's figure about 1.2 times Mexico's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 25 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Mexico ahead.

Globally, Brazil ranks 74th and Mexico ranks 77th of 128 countries.

Indicator: Literate and illiterate world population
Unit: %
Source: UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 128 places, 1,272 data points, 1475–2024
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Share of adults who cannot read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life.