Ranking · 45 countries · 2022
Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) by country
Tuvalu had the highest literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) in 2022, at 100%, followed by Uzbekistan (100%) and San Marino (99.9%). The ranking compares 45 countries on 2022 figures from the World Bank. Niger ranked last of the 45, at 35.6%.
How this ranking is built. Indicator: Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) · Industry: Education · Period: 2022. Only verified actual figures for that one period are ranked, so every row is comparable; forecasts are not ranked, and world or regional totals are shown as reference, not ranked. 117 other countries have data only for other periods and are omitted.
Visualised
Ranked chart
Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) by country
2022 · 12 highest of 45 countries
The table
Country ranking
Rank · country · value · change on the same period a year earlier · source. Values in %.
| # | Country | Value | YoY | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuvalu TV | 100% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 2 | Uzbekistan UZ | 100% | +0.0% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 3 | San Marino SM | 99.9% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 4 | Turkmenistan TM | 99.9% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 5 | Armenia AM | 99.8% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 6 | Georgia GE | 99.6% | -0.3% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 7 | Serbia RS | 99.3% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 8 | Uruguay UY | 98.8% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 9 | Mongolia MN | 98.7% | -0.5% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 10 | United Arab Emirates AE | 98.3% | +0.2% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 11 | Bahrain BH | 97.9% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 12 | Palestine PS | 97.8% | +0.2% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 13 | Oman OM | 97.3% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 14 | Ecuador EC | 96.3% | +1.9% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 15 | Vietnam VN | 96.1% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 16 | Malaysia MY | 95.8% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 17 | Colombia CO | 95.3% | -0.4% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 18 | Mexico MX | 95.1% | -0.6% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 19 | Brazil BR | 94.4% | -0.4% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 20 | Dominican Republic DO | 93.7% | -0.0% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 21 | Sri Lanka LK | 92.5% | +0.1% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 22 | Thailand TH | 91.1% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 23 | Eswatini SZ | 90.8% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 24 | El Salvador SV | 89.4% | +0.3% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 25 | Iran IR | 88.6% | +0.2% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 26 | Honduras HN | 88.2% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 27 | Belize BZ | 87.9% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 28 | Papua New Guinea PG | 87% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 29 | Guatemala GT | 83% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 30 | Zambia ZM | 80% | +0.0% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 31 | Egypt EG | 79.5% | -3.2% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 32 | Bangladesh BD | 79% | +3.5% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 33 | Rwanda RW | 78.8% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 34 | Tanzania TZ | 78.2% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 35 | India IN | 76.3% | +0.3% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 36 | Togo TG | 72.6% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 37 | Timor-Leste TL | 69.4% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 38 | Bhutan BT | 64.9% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 39 | Guinea-Bissau GW | 63.9% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 40 | Mozambique MZ | 61.7% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 41 | Ethiopia ET | 60.5% | +10.2% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 42 | Somalia SO | 54.1% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
| 43 | Benin BJ | 51.4% | +17.2% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 44 | Burkina Faso BF | 40.9% | +10.7% | 2022 | World Bank |
| 45 | Niger NE | 35.6% | — | 2022 | World Bank |
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the highest literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)?
Tuvalu, at 100% in 2022, ahead of Uzbekistan (100%) and San Marino (99.9%), among 45 countries ranked on 2022 figures from the World Bank.
Which country has the lowest literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)?
Niger, at 35.6% in 2022, then Burkina Faso (40.9%).
What does this ranking measure?
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.
Which countries are included?
45 countries with 2022 figures: Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, San Marino, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Georgia, Serbia, Uruguay, Mongolia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Palestine and 33 more. 117 other countries published figures only for other periods and are left out, so every row compares the same period.
Where does the data come from?
From the World Bank. Every value links to its record, which quotes the table or sentence it was read from. Only actual figures are ranked; forecasts are left out.
Cite & reuse
Cite this ranking
Published under CC BY 4.0.
StatOrigin. (2026). Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) by country, 2022. Retrieved from https://statorigin.org/rankings/literacy-rate-adult-total-by-country