Countries by Adult Literacy

What Adult Literacy Measures

Average adult literacy assessment score, from OECD How's Life / Well-Being.

Why This Ranking Matters

Examining Adult Literacy across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.

Global Range

Values range from 217.9 Points (Chile) to 302.72 Points (Finland) — minimal difference across 30 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries dominate this ranking, holding 15 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 248.94 Points to 278.46 Points. The overall spread from 217.9 Points to 302.72 Points reflects significant global variation.

Notable Outliers

The top of the ranking is competitive: Finland and Japan are separated by only 4%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data.

Continental Leaders

Europe

Finland

302.72 Points

Asia

Japan

290.72 Points

Oceania

Australia

280.4 Points

North America

Canada

272.97 Points

South America

Chile

217.9 Points