Iran vs Lesotho: Literate and illiterate world population

Iran

11.1%

in 2023

Lesotho

9.6%

in 2024

Iran rank

53rd

Lesotho rank

55th

Literate and illiterate world population over time

Iran currently reports 11.1% against 9.6% in Lesotho, a difference of 1.5%.

That makes Iran's figure about 1.2 times Lesotho's.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 5 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Iran ahead.

Globally, Iran ranks 53rd and Lesotho ranks 55th 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.