Countries by Adult Literacy Rate
Complete ranking of 95 countries • % • Updated 2026
About Literacy Rate % Rankings
Palau leads all 95 countries in Literacy Rate % with a value of 100, while Niger ranks last at 35.61. This represents a 3-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.
What Literacy Rate % Measures
Literacy Rate % is a comparative indicator tracked across countries by the World Bank. It provides a quantitative basis for cross-national comparison, enabling researchers and policymakers to benchmark national performance on this dimension against global peers.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Literacy Rate % 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 35.61 (Niger) to 100 (Palau) — a 3-fold difference across 95 countries.
Regional Patterns
European countries lead with 8 entries in the top 20, though representation spans multiple continents. Regional factors clearly play a role, but outliers from other parts of the world show that national policy and geography matter as much as continental trends.
Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 75.825 to 97.34. The overall spread from 35.61 to 100 reflects significant global variation.
Notable Outliers
The top of the ranking is competitive: Palau and Tuvalu are separated by only 0%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data.
Continental Leaders
Highest Ranked
The top five countries for Literacy Rate % are Palau (100), Tuvalu (100), Uzbekistan (100), Russia (99.93), and San Marino (99.91). Together, these nations represent the global leaders in this metric.
Lowest Ranked
At the other end of the spectrum, Niger (35.61), Afghanistan (37.27), Burkina Faso (41.442), Côte d'Ivoire (50), and Senegal (50.36) have the lowest values globally.
Data Source & Methodology
Rankings are based on the latest available data from World Bank, covering 95 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.
Top 10 Countries
Full Rankings
| Percentile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st |  Palau | 100.0% | Oceania | 100% |
| 2nd |  Tuvalu | 100.0% | Oceania | 99% |
| 3rd |  Uzbekistan | 100.0% | Asia | 98% |
| 4th |  Russia | 99.9% | Europe | 97% |
| 5th |  San Marino | 99.9% | Europe | 96% |
| 6th |  Turkmenistan | 99.9% | Asia | 95% |
| 7th |  Armenia | 99.8% | Europe | 94% |
| 8th |  Azerbaijan | 99.8% | Europe | 93% |
| 9th |  Spain | 99.7% | Europe | 92% |
| 10th |  Georgia | 99.7% | Europe | 91% |
| 11th |  Serbia | 99.3% | Europe | 89% |
| 12th |  Romania | 99.2% | Europe | 88% |
| 13th |  Argentina | 99.1% | South America | 87% |
| 14th |  Uruguay | 98.9% | South America | 86% |
| 15th |  United Arab Emirates | 98.8% | Asia | 85% |
| 16th |  Mongolia | 98.6% | Asia | 84% |
| 17th |  Kiribati | 98.6% | Oceania | 83% |
| 18th |  Philippines | 98.5% | Asia | 82% |
| 19th |  Palestine | 97.9% | Asia | 81% |
| 20th |  Saudi Arabia | 97.9% | Asia | 80% |
| 21st |  Bahrain | 97.8% | Asia | 79% |
| 22nd |  Albania | 97.7% | Europe | 78% |
| 23rd |  Singapore | 97.7% | Asia | 77% |
| 24th |  Oman | 97.3% | Asia | 76% |
| 25th |  Turkey | 97.3% | Europe | 75% |
| 26th |  China | 96.7% | Asia | 74% |
| 27th |  Nauru | 96.6% | Oceania | 73% |
| 28th |  Kuwait | 96.5% | Asia | 72% |
| 29th |  Ecuador | 96.3% | South America | 71% |
| 30th |  Panama | 96.3% | North America | 69% |
| 31st |  Vietnam | 96.1% | Asia | 68% |
| 32nd |  Indonesia | 96.0% | Asia | 67% |
| 33rd |  Marshall Islands | 95.8% | Oceania | 66% |
| 34th |  Malaysia | 95.8% | Asia | 65% |
| 35th |  Mexico | 95.8% | North America | 64% |
| 36th |  Bolivia | 95.5% | South America | 63% |
| 37th |  Colombia | 95.3% | North America | 62% |
| 38th |  Paraguay | 94.9% | South America | 61% |
| 39th |  Jordan | 94.8% | Asia | 60% |
| 40th |  Brazil | 94.8% | South America | 59% |
| 41st |  Syria | 94.4% | Asia | 58% |
| 42nd |  Mauritius | 94.3% | Africa | 57% |
| 43rd |  Dominican Republic | 94.0% | North America | 56% |
| 44th |  Peru | 93.7% | South America | 55% |
| 45th |  Myanmar | 93.5% | Asia | 54% |
| 46th |  Sri Lanka | 92.7% | Asia | 53% |
| 47th |  South Africa | 91.2% | Africa | 52% |
| 48th |  Thailand | 91.1% | Asia | 51% |
| 49th |  Eswatini | 90.8% | Africa | 49% |
| 50th |  Lesotho | 90.5% | Africa | 48% |
| 51st |  El Salvador | 89.8% | North America | 47% |
| 52nd |  Iran | 88.9% | Asia | 46% |
| 53rd |  Gabon | 88.9% | Africa | 45% |
| 54th |  Cabo Verde | 88.5% | Africa | 44% |
| 55th |  Honduras | 88.3% | North America | 43% |
| 56th |  Vanuatu | 88.0% | Oceania | 42% |
| 57th |  Belize | 87.9% | North America | 41% |
| 58th |  Namibia | 87.6% | Africa | 40% |
| 59th |  Papua New Guinea | 87.1% | Oceania | 39% |
| 60th |  Tunisia | 86.3% | Africa | 38% |
| 61st |  Guyana | 85.6% | North America | 37% |
| 62nd |  Iraq | 84.1% | Asia | 36% |
| 63rd |  Guatemala | 82.1% | North America | 35% |
| 64th |  Zambia | 82.0% | Africa | 34% |
| 65th |  India | 81.7% | Asia | 33% |
| 66th |  Egypt | 79.5% | Africa | 32% |
| 67th |  Uganda | 79.1% | Africa | 31% |
| 68th |  Bangladesh | 79.0% | Asia | 29% |
| 69th |  Rwanda | 78.8% | Africa | 28% |
| 70th |  Tanzania | 78.2% | Africa | 27% |
| 71st |  Ghana | 76.5% | Africa | 26% |
| 72nd |  Comoros | 75.8% | Africa | 25% |
| 73rd |  Laos | 75.6% | Asia | 24% |
| 74th |  Madagascar | 74.7% | Africa | 23% |
| 75th |  Togo | 72.6% | Africa | 22% |
| 76th |  Timor-Leste | 72.5% | Asia | 21% |
| 77th |  Cambodia | 71.9% | Asia | 20% |
| 78th |  Burundi | 71.4% | Africa | 19% |
| 79th |  Nigeria | 70.4% | Africa | 18% |
| 80th |  Malawi | 70.2% | Africa | 17% |
| 81st |  Congo, Democratic Republic | 65.7% | Africa | 16% |
| 82nd |  Bhutan | 64.9% | Asia | 15% |
| 83rd |  Guinea-Bissau | 63.9% | Africa | 14% |
| 84th |  Mozambique | 61.7% | Africa | 13% |
| 85th |  Ethiopia | 60.5% | Africa | 12% |
| 86th |  Mauritania | 59.5% | Africa | 11% |
| 87th |  Pakistan | 58.9% | Asia | 9% |
| 88th |  Somalia | 54.1% | Africa | 8% |
| 89th |  Gambia | 51.6% | Africa | 7% |
| 90th |  Benin | 51.4% | Africa | 6% |
| 91st |  Senegal | 50.4% | Africa | 5% |
| 92nd |  Côte d'Ivoire | 50.0% | Africa | 4% |
| 93rd |  Burkina Faso | 41.4% | Africa | 3% |
| 94th |  Afghanistan | 37.3% | Asia | 2% |
| 95th |  Niger | 35.6% | Africa | 1% |