Malawi vs Zambia: Literate and illiterate world population

Malawi

29.9%

in 2020

Zambia

28.2%

in 2024

Malawi rank

24th

Zambia rank

27th

Literate and illiterate world population over time

Malawi currently reports 29.9% against 28.2% in Zambia, a difference of 1.6%.

That makes Malawi's figure about 1.1 times Zambia's.

Globally, Malawi ranks 24th and Zambia ranks 27th 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.