Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) by country
Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.
Countries reporting
89
Highest
100.0%
Uzbekistan
Lowest
18.6%
Chad
Median
91.5%
Years covered
52
1973–2024
Data points
2,600
What the numbers show
Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) is currently reported for 89 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 18.6% in Chad.
The median across all reporting countries is 91.5%, and the mean is 79.5%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 5.
Over the past decade 69 countries rose and 17 fell. The largest increase was in Guinea (up 127.2%), and the largest decrease in Zambia (down 17.5%).
Literacy rate, adult female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% | 2022 | unchanged | flat |
| 2 | Armenia | 99.9% | 2023 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 99.7% | 2023 | up 0.0% | flat |
| 4 | Tonga | 99.6% | 2023 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 5 | Georgia | 99.6% | 2024 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 6 | Spain | 99.6% | 2021 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 7 | Uruguay | 99.2% | 2024 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 8 | Serbia | 99.1% | 2022 | up 2.4% | rising |
| 9 | Mongolia | 98.9% | 2024 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 10 | United Arab Emirates | 98.4% | 2024 | up 1.3% | rising |
| 11 | Maldives | 98.3% | 2019 | down 0.2% | rising |
| 12 | Montenegro | 98.0% | 2018 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 13 | Samoa | 97.7% | 2019 | down 1.4% | flat |
| 14 | Qatar | 97.6% | 2014 | up 10.1% | rising |
| 15 | Venezuela | 97.2% | 2017 | up 2.4% | rising |
| 16 | Albania | 97.2% | 2023 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 17 | Philippines | 97.0% | 2022 | up 0.2% | rising |
| 18 | Palestine | 96.8% | 2024 | up 2.9% | rising |
| 19 | Saudi Arabia | 96.7% | 2024 | up 5.8% | rising |
| 20 | Lesotho | 96.6% | 2024 | down 1.9% | rising |
| 21 | Singapore | 96.4% | 2021 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 22 | Chile | 96.3% | 2017 | down 0.2% | rising |
| 23 | Bahrain | 96.3% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 24 | Panama | 95.8% | 2024 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 25 | Tajikistan | 95.8% | 2023 | down 3.8% | flat |
| 26 | Colombia | 95.7% | 2024 | up 1.3% | rising |
| 27 | Kuwait | 95.3% | 2020 | up 2.9% | rising |
| 28 | Turkey | 95.3% | 2021 | up 5.5% | rising |
| 29 | Vietnam | 95.1% | 2022 | up 4.0% | rising |
| 30 | China | 95.0% | 2020 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 31 | Macao | 95.0% | 2016 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 32 | Brazil | 95.0% | 2024 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 33 | Mexico | 94.9% | 2024 | up 1.4% | rising |
| 34 | Oman | 94.9% | 2022 | up 16.0% | rising |
| 35 | Bolivia | 94.8% | 2024 | up 7.0% | rising |
| 36 | Malaysia | 94.7% | 2022 | up 4.3% | rising |
| 37 | Indonesia | 94.5% | 2020 | up 5.2% | rising |
| 38 | Dominican Republic | 94.4% | 2024 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 39 | Paraguay | 94.3% | 2024 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 40 | Mauritius | 92.7% | 2023 | up 4.1% | rising |
| 41 | Myanmar | 92.6% | 2020 | up 5.7% | rising |
| 42 | Ecuador | 92.6% | 2024 | down 0.7% | rising |
| 43 | Sri Lanka | 92.1% | 2024 | up 0.4% | rising |
| 44 | Jordan | 92.0% | 2024 | down 5.5% | rising |
| 45 | Thailand | 91.5% | 2022 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 46 | South Africa | 90.8% | 2024 | down 2.4% | rising |
| 47 | Peru | 90.7% | 2024 | up 0.2% | rising |
| 48 | Honduras | 88.8% | 2024 | up 2.0% | rising |
| 49 | El Salvador | 88.2% | 2024 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 50 | Namibia | 87.4% | 2023 | down 0.6% | rising |
| 51 | Iran | 85.1% | 2023 | up 6.7% | rising |
| 52 | Cape Verde | 84.1% | 2024 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 53 | Sao Tome and Principe | 82.8% | 2019 | down 3.1% | rising |
| 54 | Tunisia | 80.1% | 2023 | up 11.0% | rising |
| 55 | Guatemala | 78.5% | 2024 | up 2.7% | rising |
| 56 | Iraq | 77.8% | 2021 | up 12.7% | rising |
| 57 | Rwanda | 76.7% | 2022 | up 18.6% | rising |
| 58 | Bangladesh | 76.5% | 2022 | up 41.1% | rising |
| 59 | Algeria | 74.2% | 2019 | up 9.9% | rising |
| 60 | Uganda | 73.5% | 2024 | up 18.8% | rising |
| 61 | Egypt | 73.3% | 2022 | up 11.5% | rising |
| 62 | Tanzania | 73.1% | 2022 | down 0.3% | rising |
| 63 | Ghana | 72.1% | 2021 | up 10.5% | rising |
| 64 | India | 70.7% | 2024 | up 18.0% | rising |
| 65 | Laos | 66.7% | 2023 | down 15.9% | rising |
| 66 | Cameroon | 66.2% | 2018 | up 5.0% | rising |
| 67 | Burundi | 66.1% | 2020 | up 53.2% | rising |
| 68 | East Timor | 65.7% | 2022 | up 24.1% | rising |
| 69 | Zambia | 64.4% | 2024 | down 17.5% | rising |
| 70 | Togo | 63.7% | 2022 | up 32.7% | rising |
| 71 | Cambodia | 63.6% | 2021 | down 7.9% | rising |
| 72 | Malawi | 62.7% | 2020 | — | rising |
| 73 | Nigeria | 62.4% | 2024 | up 27.2% | rising |
| 74 | Nepal | 59.4% | 2019 | up 37.1% | rising |
| 75 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 53.8% | 2023 | down 14.5% | flat |
| 76 | Morocco | 53.4% | 2014 | up 34.7% | rising |
| 77 | Mozambique | 50.9% | 2022 | up 39.6% | rising |
| 78 | Ethiopia | 50.0% | 2022 | up 36.5% | rising |
| 79 | Pakistan | 48.5% | 2021 | up 15.6% | rising |
| 80 | Benin | 41.5% | 2022 | down 2.2% | rising |
| 81 | Senegal | 41.5% | 2023 | up 22.9% | rising |
| 82 | Cote d'Ivoire | 40.3% | 2021 | up 9.5% | rising |
| 83 | Burkina Faso | 35.7% | 2023 | up 36.3% | rising |
| 84 | Sierra Leone | 33.9% | 2019 | up 40.5% | rising |
| 85 | Mali | 27.7% | 2024 | up 25.0% | rising |
| 86 | Guinea | 27.7% | 2018 | up 127.2% | rising |
| 87 | Afghanistan | 26.6% | 2022 | up 56.3% | rising |
| 88 | Niger | 25.7% | 2022 | up 13.9% | rising |
| 89 | Chad | 18.6% | 2019 | up 3.7% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Central Europe and the Baltics 99.5%
- Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) 99.1%
- North America 98.8%
- Europe & Central Asia 98.5%
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 98.4%
- Late-demographic dividend 95.8%
- East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) 95.5%
- East Asia & Pacific (IDA & IBRD countries) 95.5%
- East Asia & Pacific 95.3%
- Upper middle income 94.9%
- Latin America & Caribbean 94.7%
- Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 94.6%
About this data
Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.