Education > Literacy > Total population: Countries Compared

DEFINITION: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of our source. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons.

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#	COUNTRY	AMOUNT	DATE
=1	Holy See (Vatican City)	100%	2011
=1	Liechtenstein	100%	2008
=1	Norway	100%	2008
=1	Andorra	100%	2008
=1	Georgia	100%	2004
=1	Greenland	100%	2001
=1	Luxembourg	100%	2000
=1	Finland	100%	2000
=9	Estonia	99.8%	2003
=9	Latvia	99.8%	2003
=9	Poland	99.8%	2003
=12	Slovenia	99.7%	2008
=12	Samoa	99.7%	2003
=12	Ukraine	99.7%	2003
=12	Barbados	99.7%	2002
=16	Slovakia	99.6%	2004
=16	Lithuania	99.6%	2003
=16	Russia	99.6%	2003
=16	Belarus	99.6%	2003
20	Kazakhstan	99.5%	1999
=21	Tajikistan	99.4%	2003
=21	Hungary	99.4%	2003
23	Uzbekistan	99.3%	2003
=24	Moldova	99.1%	2005
=24	Mongolia	99.1%	2003
=26	North Korea	99%	2011
=26	Canada	99%	2003
=26	Netherlands	99%	2003
=26	Monaco	99%	2003
=26	France	99%	2003
=26	Ireland	99%	2003
=26	Australia	99%	2003
=26	Denmark	99%	2003
=26	United Kingdom	99%	2003
=26	New Zealand	99%	2003
=26	Czech Republic	99%	2003
=26	United States	99%	2003
=26	Sweden	99%	2003
=26	Belgium	99%	2003
=26	Switzerland	99%	2003
=26	Iceland	99%	2003
=26	Germany	99%	2003
=26	Japan	99%	2002
=26	Guam	99%	1990
=26	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	99%	1982
	Group of 7 countries (G7) average (profile)	98.93%	2003
46	Tonga	98.9%	1999
=47	Azerbaijan	98.8%	2003
=47	Guyana	98.8%	2003
=47	Turkmenistan	98.8%	1999
50	Kyrgyzstan	98.7%	1999
=51	Italy	98.6%	2003
=51	Trinidad and Tobago	98.6%	2003
=51	Armenia	98.6%	2003
=51	Bulgaria	98.6%	2003
55	Croatia	98.5%	2003
	High income OECD countries average (profile)	98.45%	2003
	European Union average (profile)	98.43%	2003
56	Romania	98.4%	2003
57	South Korea	98.1%	2003
=58	Austria	98%	2008
=58	Bermuda	98%	2005
=58	Uruguay	98%	2003
=58	French Polynesia	98%	1977
=58	Cayman Islands	98%	1970
=58	Turks and Caicos Islands	98%	1970
64	Spain	97.9%	2003
=65	Saint Kitts and Nevis	97.8%	2003
=65	British Virgin Islands	97.8%	1991
	NATO countries average (profile)	97.7%	2003
67	Martinique	97.7%	2003
68	Cyprus	97.6%	2003
69	Greece	97.5%	2003
70	Aruba	97.3%	2000
=71	Israel	97.1%	2004
=71	Argentina	97.1%	2003
=73	Cuba	97%	2003
=73	American Samoa	97%	1980
=73	Northern Mariana Islands	97%	1980
=73	Montserrat	97%	1970
=77	Netherlands Antilles	96.7%	2003
=77	Bosnia and Herzegovina	96.7%	2000
79	Serbia and Montenegro	96.4%	2003
=80	Chile	96.2%	2003
=80	New Caledonia	96.2%	1996
82	Taiwan	96.1%	2003
=83	San Marino	96%	2011
=83	Costa Rica	96%	2003
=83	Thailand	96%	2003
=83	Grenada	96%	2003
=83	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	96%	1970
88	Philippines	95.9%	2003
	Non-religious countries average (profile)	95.75%	2003
89	The Bahamas	95.6%	2003
=90	Cook Islands	95%	2010
=90	Niue	95%	2008
=90	Anguilla	95%	1984
93	Macau	94.5%	2003
=94	Belize	94.1%	2003
=94	Puerto Rico	94.1%	2002
=96	Dominica	94%	2003
=96	Hong Kong	94%	2003
=96	Paraguay	94%	2003
=96	Vietnam	94%	2003
100	Maldives	93.8%	2006
=101	Fiji	93.7%	2003
=101	Marshall Islands	93.7%	1999
103	Venezuela	93.4%	2003
=104	Kuwait	93.3%	2005
=104	Portugal	93.3%	2003
106	Singapore	93.2%	2003
107	Peru	92.9%	2007
108	Malta	92.8%	2005
109	Panama	92.6%	2003
110	Ecuador	92.5%	2003
=111	West Bank	92.4%	2004
=111	Gaza Strip	92.4%	2004
113	Sri Lanka	92.3%	2003
114	Palau	92%	1980
115	Seychelles	91.9%	2003
116	Brunei	91.8%	2003
117	China	91.6%	2007
	Emerging markets average (profile)	91.07%	2003
118	Zimbabwe	90.7%	2003
=119	Colombia	90.4%	2005
=119	Indonesia	90.4%	2004
121	Saint Lucia	90.1%	2001
=122	Burma	89.9%	2006
=122	Jordan	89.9%	2003
124	Suriname	89.6%	2004
	Heavily indebted countries average (profile)	89.51%	2003
125	Bahrain	89.1%	2003
	Former Spanish colonies average (profile)	89.02%	2003
=126	Qatar	89%	2004
=126	Federated States of Micronesia	89%	1980
=128	Malaysia	88.9%	2003
=128	Reunion	88.9%	2003
130	Brazil	88.6%	2004
131	Jamaica	87.9%	2003
=132	Turkey	87.4%	2004
=132	Lebanon	87.4%	2003
134	Bolivia	87.2%	2003
135	Albania	86.5%	2003
136	South Africa	86.4%	2003
137	Mexico	86.1%	2005
138	Antigua and Barbuda	85.8%	2003
139	Equatorial Guinea	85.7%	2003
140	Mauritius	85.6%	2003
141	Kenya	85.1%	2003
142	Sao Tome and Principe	84.9%	2001
143	Lesotho	84.8%	2003
144	Dominican Republic	84.7%	2003
145	Namibia	84%	2003
146	Congo, Republic of the	83.8%	2003
147	Libya	82.6%	2003
148	Swaziland	81.6%	2003
	Former British colonies average (profile)	81.47%	2003
149	Oman	81.4%	2003
150	Botswana	81.2%	2003
151	El Salvador	81.1%	2007
152	Zambia	80.6%	2003
153	Syria	79.6%	2004
154	Iran	79.4%	2003
155	Cameroon	79%	2003
156	Saudi Arabia	78.8%	2003
157	Tanzania	78.2%	2003
158	United Arab Emirates	77.9%	2003
159	Cape Verde	76.6%	2003
160	Honduras	76.2%	2003
	OPEC countries average (profile)	75.65%	2003
	Middle Eastern and North Africa average (profile)	74.94%	2003
161	Ghana	74.8%	2003
162	Tunisia	74.3%	2004
163	Vanuatu	74%	1999
164	Cambodia	73.6%	2004
165	Laos	73%	2005
166	Egypt	71.4%	2005
167	Guatemala	70.6%	2003
168	Rwanda	70.4%	2003
169	Algeria	70%	2003
170	Uganda	69.9%	2003
171	Madagascar	68.9%	2003
172	Nigeria	68%	2003
	Muslim countries average (profile)	67.94%	2003
173	Djibouti	67.9%	2003
174	Nicaragua	67.5%	2003
175	Angola	67.4%	2001
176	Papua New Guinea	66%	2003
177	Democratic Republic of the Congo	65.5%	2003
178	Gabon	63.2%	1995
	Sub-Saharan Africa average (profile)	63.06%	2003
179	Malawi	62.7%	2003
180	Sudan	61.1%	2003
181	Togo	60.9%	2003
182	India	59.5%	2003
=183	Eritrea	58.6%	2003
=183	East Timor	58.6%	2002
185	Liberia	57.5%	2003
	Former French colonies average (profile)	56.56%	2003
186	Comoros	56.5%	2003
	failed states average (profile)	53.52%	2003
187	Haiti	52.9%	2003
188	Morocco	52.3%	2004
189	Burundi	51.6%	2003
190	Central African Republic	51%	2003
191	Cote d'Ivoire	50.9%	2003
192	Yemen	50.2%	2003
193	Wallis and Futuna	50%	1969
194	Pakistan	49.9%	2005
	South Asia average (profile)	48.83%	2003
195	Mozambique	47.8%	2003
196	Chad	47.5%	2003
197	Bhutan	47%	2003
198	Mali	46.4%	2003
199	Nepal	45.2%	2003
200	Bangladesh	43.1%	2003
201	Ethiopia	42.7%	2003
202	Guinea-Bissau	42.4%	2003
203	Mauritania	41.7%	2003
204	Iraq	40.4%	2003
205	Senegal	40.2%	2003
206	The Gambia	40.1%	2003
207	Somalia	37.8%	2001
208	Sierra Leone	35.1%	2004
209	Benin	34.7%	2002
210	Guinea	29.5%	2003
211	Niger	28.7%	2005
212	Afghanistan	28.1%	2000
213	Burkina Faso	21.8%	2003

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