Literacy Rate
WorldPopulationSocial / HealthThe percentage of the population, age 15 years or older, who has the ability to read, write, and use arithmetic. Some countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia do not report these rates to UNESCO.
A world map shows literacy rates. Dark purple (more than 98 percent): Russia, Argentina, Poland, Ukraine, and Mongolia. Purple to light purple (70 to 98 percent): China, Brazil, India. Very light purple (less than 70 percent): Countries in central Africa.
Class | Rank | Percent | 160 in and over | 110–159 in | 60–109 in | 30–59 in | 15–29 in | Under 15 in | Class | Rank | Metric tons | Tropical rain forest (Af) | Tropical monsoon (Am) | Tropical savanna (Aw) | Tropical, subtropical hot desert (BWh) | Midlatitude cold desert (BWk) | Tropical, subtropical hot steppe (BSh) | Midlatitude cold steppe (BSk) | Humid subtropical moist all year, hot summer (Cfa) | Marine West Coast (Cfb, Cfc) | Mediterranean (Csa, Csb) | Humid continental, hot summers (Dfa, Dwa, Dsa) | Humid continental, mild summers (Dfb, Dwb, Dsb) | Subarctic, cool summer (Dfc, Dwc, Dsc) | Tundra (ET) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.03% | 8.85% | 24.9% | 28.9% | 11.4% | 61.0% | 6.90% | 4.19% | 1.68% | 17.2% | 2.57% | 9.24% | 20.9% | 55.8% | 0.656% | 11.0% | 16.7% | 25.1% | 45.5% | 11.1% | |||||||