population of illiterates in each country.

Youth: Percentage of people aged 15 to 24 years who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations
Adult: Percentage of the population aged 15 years and over who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on his/her everyday life. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations
Elderly: Percentage of the population aged 65 years and over who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations
Gender Parity Index (GPI): The gender parity index (GPI) of the youth literacy rate is the ratio of the female to male literacy rates of the population aged 15 to 24 years. A GPI value between 0.97 and 1.03 is usually interpreted to indicate gender parity.

List of UN member and observer states by adult literacy rate

Country	UNESCO[3]	Non-UNESCO literacy rate
Literacy rate (all)	Male literacy	Female literacy	Gender difference[note 1]
World	86.3%	90.0%	82.7%	7.3%
Afghanistan	38.2%	52.0%	24.2%	27.8%
Albania	97.6%	98.4%	96.8%	1.6%
Algeria	80.2%	87.2%	73.1%	14.0%	87.7%[6]
Andorra	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Angola	71.1%	82.0%	60.7%	21.3%
Antigua and Barbuda	not reported by UNESCO 2015	99.0%(2013)[3][note 2]
Argentina	98.1%	98.0%	98.1%	-0.1%
Armenia	99.8%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
Australia	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Austria	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Azerbaijan	99.8%	99.9%	99.7%	0.2%
Bahamas	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Bahrain	95.7%	96.9%	93.5%	3.5%
Bangladesh	73.9% (Year-2018)[note 3]	76.7%	71. 2%	5.5%	73.9% ( Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics sample vital statistics for 2018)
Barbados	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Belarus	99.7%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
Belgium	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Belize	82.7%	82.3%	83.0%	-0.7%
Benin	38.4%	49.9%	27.3%	22.6%
Bhutan	64.9%	73.1%	55.0%	18.1%
Bolivia	95.7%	97.8%	93.6%	4.2%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	98.5%	99.5%	97.5%	2.1%	97.2% (2013)[7][note 4]
Botswana	88.5%	88.0%	88.9%	-0.9%
Brazil	91.7%	91.4%	92.1%	-0.7%
Brunei	96.4%	97.7%	95.1%	2.6%
Bulgaria	98.4%	98.7%	98.1%	0.7%
Burkina Faso	36%	43.0%	29.3%	13.7%
Burundi	85.6%	88.2%	83.1%	5.1%
Cabo Verde	87.6%	92.1%	83.1%	9.0%
Cambodia	77.2%	84.5%	70.5%	13.9%
Cameroon	75%	81.2%	68.9%	12.3%
Canada	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Central African Republic	36.8%	50.7%	24.4%	26.4%
Chad	40.2%	48.5%	31.9%	16.6%
Chile	97.3%	97.4%	97.2%	0.2%
China	96.4%	98.2%	94.5%	3.7%
Colombia	94.7%	94.6%	94.8%	-0.2%
Comoros	77.8%	81.8%	73.7%	8.1%
Congo	79.3%	86.4%	72.9%	13.6%
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	77.3%	88.9%	66.0%	22.8%
Costa Rica	97.8%	97.7%	97.8%	-0.1%
Ivory Coast	43.1%	53.1%	32.5%	20.6%
Croatia	99.3%	99.7%	98.9%	0.7%
Cuba	99.7%	99.7%	99.8%	-0.1%
Cyprus	99.1%	99.5%	98.7%	0.8%
Czech Republic	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Denmark	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Djibouti	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Dominica	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Dominican Republic	91.8%	91.2%	92.3%	-1.1%
Ecuador	94.5%	95.4%	93.5%	1.8%
Egypt	75.2%	83.2%	67.3%	16.0%
El Salvador	88.4%	90.7%	86.4%	4.3%
Equatorial Guinea	95.3%	97.4%	93.0%	4.4%
Eritrea	73.8%	82.4%	65.5%	16.9%
Estonia	99.8%	99.8%	99.8%	0.0%
Ethiopia	49.1%	57.2%	41.1%	16.1%
Fiji	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Finland	not reported by UNESCO 2015
France	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Gabon	83.2%	85.3%	81.0%	4.3%
Gambia	55.5%	63.9%	47.6%	16.3%
Georgia	99.8%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
Germany	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Ghana	76.6%	82.0%	71.4%	10.7%
Greece	97.7%	98.5%	96.9%	1.6%
Grenada	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Guatemala	79.3%	84.7%	74.4%	10.4%
Guinea	30.4%	38.1%	22.8%	15.3%
Guinea-Bissau	59.9%	71.8%	48.3%	23.5%
Guyana	88.5%	87.2%	89.8%	-2.6%
Haiti	60.7%	64.3%	57.3%	7.0%
Honduras	88.5%	88.4%	88.6%	-0.1%
Hungary	99.1%	99.1%	99.0%	0.2%
Iceland	not reported by UNESCO 2015
India	65.79%	16.6%	74.0% (2011)[8]Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page without content in them (see the help page).
Indonesia	93.9%	96.3%	91.5%	4.7%
Iran	86.8%	91.2%	82.5%	8.7%
Iraq	43.7%	43.0%	38.0%	5.0%	78.5%[9]
Ireland	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Israel	not reported by UNESCO 2015	97.8% (2011)[4][note 5]
Italy	99.2%	99.4%	99.0%	0.4%
Jamaica	88.7%	84.0%	93.1%	-9.1%
Japan	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Jordan	97.9% (in 2012)	98.4%	97.4%	1.0%
Kazakhstan	99.8%	99.8%	99.8%	0.0%
Kenya	78%	81.1%	74.9%	6.2%
Kiribati	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	0.0%
Korea, Republic of	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Kuwait	96.2%	96.9%	95.0%	1.9%
Kyrgyzstan	99.5%	99.6%	99.4%	0.2%
Laos	79.9%	87.1%	72.8%	14.3%
Latvia	99.9%	99.9%	99.9%	0.0%
Lebanon	93.9%	96.0%	91.8%	4.1%
Lesotho	79.4%	70.1%	88.3%	-18.2%
Liberia	47.6%	62.4%	32.8%	29.6%
Libya	91%	96.7%	85.6%	11.1%
Liechtenstein	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Lithuania	99.8%	99.8%	99.8%	0.0%
Luxembourg	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Macedonia	97.8%	98.8%	96.8%	2.0%
Madagascar	64.7%	66.7%	62.6%	4.1%
Malawi	65.8%	73.0%	58.6%	14.4%
Malaysia	94.6%	96.2%	93.2%	3.0%
Maldives	99.3%	99.8%	98.8%	0.9%
Mali	38.7%	48.2%	29.2%	19.0%
Malta	94.1%	92.5%	95.7%	-3.2%
Marshall Islands	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Mauritania	52.1%	62.6%	41.6%	21.0%
Mauritius	90.6%	92.9%	88.5%	4.4%
Mexico	94.4%	95.6%	93.3%	2.2%
Micronesia	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Moldova	99.4%	99.7%	99.1%	0.7%
Monaco	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Mongolia	98.4%	98.2%	98.6%	-0.4%
Montenegro	98.7%	99.5%	98.0%	1.4%
Morocco	72.4%	82.7%	62.5%	20.2%
Mozambique	58.8%	73.3%	45.4%	27.9%
Myanmar	75.6%[note 6]	80.0%	71.9%	8.1%
Namibia	81.9%	79.2%	84.5%	-5.3%
Nauru	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Nepal	64.7%	75.6%	55.1%	20.5%
Netherlands	not reported by UNESCO 2015
New Zealand	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Nicaragua	82.8%	82.4%	83.2%	-0.9%
Niger	19.1%	27.3%	11.0%	16.3%
Nigeria	59.6%	69.2%	49.7%	19.5%	71.6% (2010)[11][note 7]
Norway	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Oman	94.8%	96.9%	90.0%	6.9%
Pakistan	56.4%	69.6%	42.7%	26.9%	62.3% (2018)[12][note 8]
Palau	99.5%	99.5%	99.6%	-0.1%
Panama	95%	95.7%	94.4%	1.2%
Papua New Guinea	64.2%	65.6%	62.8%	2.8%
Paraguay	95.6%	96.1%	95.0%	1.1%
Peru	94.5%	97.3%	91.7%	5.6%
Philippines	96.3%	95.8%	96.8%	-1.0%
Poland	99.8%	99.9%	99.7%	0.2%
Portugal	95.4%	96.9%	94.1%	2.8%
Palestine	96.7%	98.5%	94.8%	3.7%	2015[3]	UN Observer State[13]
Qatar	97.8%	97.9%	97.3%	0.6%
Romania	98.8%	99.1%	98.5%	0.6%
Russia	99.7%	99.7%	99.7%	0.0%
Rwanda	70.5%	73.2%	68.0%	5.2%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Saint Lucia	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Samoa	99%	98.9%	99.1%	-0.2%
San Marino	not reported by UNESCO 2015
São Tomé and Príncipe	74.9%	81.8%	68.4%	13.4%
Saudi Arabia	94.7%	97.0%	91.1%	5.9%
Senegal	55.7%	68.5%	43.8%	24.6%
Serbia	98.1%	99.1%	97.2%	1.9%
Seychelles	95.2%	94.7%	95.7%	-1.0%
Sierra Leone	48.1%	58.7%	37.7%	21.1%
Singapore	96.8%	98.7%	95.1%	3.6%
Slovakia	99.6%	99.6%	99.6%	0.0%
Slovenia	99.7%	99.7%	99.7%	0.0%
Solomon Islands	not reported by UNESCO 2015	84.1% (2015)[4][note 9]
Somalia	not reported by UNESCO 2015
South Africa	94.4%	95.5%	93.1%	2.4%
South Sudan	26.8%	34.8%	19.2%	15.6%
Spain	98.1%	98.7%	97.5%	1.3%
Sri Lanka	92.6%	93.6%	91.7%	1.9%
Sudan	53.5%	59.80%	46.7%	13.1%
Suriname	95.6%	96.1%	95.0%	1.1%
Swaziland	87.5%	87.4%	87.5%	-0.1%
Sweden	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Switzerland	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Syria	86.4%	91.7%	81.0%	10.7%
Tajikistan	99.8%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
Tanzania, United Republic of	80.3%	84.8%	75.9%	9.0%
Thailand	96.7%	96.6%	96.7%	-0.1%
Timor-Leste	67.5%	71.5%	63.4%	8.1%
Togo	66.5%	78.3%	55.3%	23.0%
Tonga	99.4%	99.3%	99.4%	-0.1%
Trinidad and Tobago	99%	99.2%	98.7%	0.5%
Tunisia	81.8%	89.6%	74.2%	15.4%
Turkey	95%	98.4%	91.8%	6.6%
Turkmenistan	99.7%	99.8%	99.6%	0.1%
Tuvalu	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Uganda	73.9%	80.8%	66.9%	14.0%
Ukraine	99.8%	99.8%	99.7%	0.1%
United Arab Emirates	93.8%	93.1%	95.8%	-2.6%
United Kingdom	not reported by UNESCO 2015
United States of America	not reported by UNESCO 2015
Uruguay	98.4%	98.1%	98.7%	-0.6%
Uzbekistan	99.6%	99.7%	99.5%	0.3%
Vanuatu	85.2%	86.6%	83.8%	2.8%
Venezuela	95.4%	95.0%	95.7%	-0.7%
Vietnam	94.5%	96.3%	92.8%	3.4%
Yemen	70.1%	85.1%	55.0%	30.1%
Zambia	63.4%	70.9%	56.0%	14.9%
Zimbabwe	86.5%	88.5%	84.6%	4.0%

List of other states and territories

Territory	Literacy rate (all)	Male literacy	Female literacy	Gender difference	Year	Notes
Aruba	97.5%	97.5%	97.5%	0.0%	2015[3]	A constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Cayman Islands	98.9%	98.7%	99.0%	-0.3%	2007[3]	An overseas territory of the United Kingdom.
Guadeloupe	96.5%	96.4%	96.6%	-0.2%	2015[3]	Overseas region/department of France.
Guam	99.8%	99.8%	99.8%	0.0%	2015[3]	An unincorporated and organized territory of the United States.
Kosovo	91.9%	96.6%	87.5%	9.1%	2003[4]	Member of two UN specialized agencies (World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund). It is claimed by Serbia.
Macau	96.2%	98.0%	94.6%	3.4%	2015[3]	A special administrative region of China.
Martinique	97.0%	97.6%	96.4%	1.2%	2015[3]	Overseas region/department of France.
New Caledonia	96.9%	97.3%	96.5%	0.8%	2015[3]	Overseas region/department of France.
Puerto Rico	93.3%	92.8%	93.8%	-1.0%	2015[3]	Unincorporated territory of the United States.
Réunion	93.9%	93.2%	94.5%	-1.3%	2015[3]	Overseas region/department of France.
Taiwan	98.70%	99.73%	97.69%	2.05%	2017[14]	Taiwan-Penghu-Kinmen-Matsu Area