Andorra

Literacy Rate by Country

wisevoter.com/country-rankings/literacy-rate-by-country

Percentage of the population ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.

Source: Our World in Data

Introduction

The literacy rate of a country is the percentage of people aged 15 or above who can read and write. Overall, most countries have high literacy rates, with the majority of them above 95%. There are also several countries with a literacy rate of 100%, including Andorra, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, North Korea, Norway, and Uzbekistan. It is also worth noting that European countries dominate the top of the list, with many of them having a literacy rate of 99% or above. Similarly, countries in the Asia-Pacific region also have high literacy rates, with several countries achieving 99% or more. On the other hand, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East have lower literacy rates, with some countries having rates below 50%. This disparity highlights the unequal distribution of educational opportunities around the world and suggests that more effort is needed to ensure that every individual has access to education.

Literacy Rates

#	Country	Literacy Rate	Education Attainment
1	Andorra	100%
2	Finland	100%
3	Liechtenstein	100%
4	Luxembourg	100%
5	North Korea	100%
6	Norway	100%
7	Uzbekistan	100%
8	Latvia	99.89%
9	Estonia	99.82%	85.8%
10	Lithuania	99.82%	89.9%
11	Azerbaijan	99.81%
12	Guam	99.79%
13	Kazakhstan	99.79%
14	Poland	99.79%	87.8%
15	Tajikistan	99.78%
16	Armenia	99.77%	89.9%
17	Georgia	99.76%
18	Ukraine	99.76%
19	Belarus	99.72%
20	Russia	99.72%
21	Cuba	99.71%
22	Slovenia	99.71%
23	Barbados	99.7%
24	Turkmenistan	99.69%
25	Slovakia	99.6%
26	Palau	99.52%
27	Kyrgyzstan	99.5%
28	Hungary	99.38%	80%
29	Maldives	99.32%
30	Croatia	99.27%
31	Moldova	99.24%
32	Cyprus	99.06%	74.5%
33	Italy	99.02%	52.5%
34	Australia	99%	80.1%
35	Belgium	99%
36	Canada	99%
37	Czech Republic	99%
38	Denmark	99%	79.3%
39	France	99%
40	Germany	99%
41	Iceland	99%	74.1%
42	Ireland	99%
43	Japan	99%
44	Monaco	99%
45	Netherlands	99%	73%
46	New Zealand	99%	75.1%
47	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	99%
48	Sweden	99%
49	Switzerland	99%
50	United Kingdom	99%	79.9%
51	United States of America	99%	90.9%
52	Trinidad and Tobago	98.97%
53	Antigua and Barbuda	98.95%
54	Cayman Islands	98.87%
55	Romania	98.76%
56	Montenegro	98.72%
57	Bosnia and Herzegovina	98.49%	69.1%
58	Uruguay	98.44%
59	Bulgaria	98.39%	77.8%
60	Mongolia	98.37%	45%
61	Marshall Islands	98.27%
62	Spain	98.11%	53.3%
63	Argentina	98.09%
64	Jordan	98.01%	50.2%
65	Austria	98%
66	Bermuda	98%
67	Serbia	98%
68	Turks and Caicos Islands	98%
69	South Korea	97.97%
70	Republic of Macedonia	97.84%	68.3%
71	British Virgin Islands	97.8%
72	Saint Kitts and Nevis	97.8%
73	Qatar	97.76%
74	Costa Rica	97.65%	40.9%
75	Albania	97.55%
76	Aruba	97.52%
77	Israel	97.1%
78	Montserrat	97%
79	Northern Mariana Islands	97%
80	Saint Helena	97%
81	New Caledonia	96.94%
82	Singapore	96.77%	74.5%
83	Palestine	96.67%	45.9%
84	Brunei	96.66%
85	Chile	96.63%
86	Philippines	96.62%
87	People's Republic of China	96.36%
88	Kuwait	96.12%
89	Taiwan	96.1%
90	Grenada	96%
91	San Marino	96%
92	Bahrain	95.72%	68.7%
93	Turkey	95.69%
94	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	95.63%
95	The Bahamas	95.6%
96	Paraguay	95.54%	42.4%
97	Suriname	95.54%
98	Indonesia	95.44%	38.1%
99	Portugal	95.43%	43.5%
100	Venezuela	95.4%
101	Seychelles	95.32%
102	Greece	95.29%	65.3%
103	Equatorial Guinea	95.2%
104	Bolivia	95.14%	59.2%
105	Panama	95.04%
106	Anguilla	95%
107	Saudi Arabia	94.84%	62.3%
108	Malaysia	94.64%
109	South Africa	94.6%
110	Colombia	94.58%	53.2%
111	Mexico	94.55%	38.6%
112	Ecuador	94.52%	43.4%
113	Vietnam	94.51%
114	Peru	94.37%
115	Malta	94.07%	48.3%
116	Lebanon	94.05%
117	Dominica	94%
118	Thailand	93.98%
119	Oman	93.97%	62.2%
120	Fiji	93.7%
121	Hong Kong	93.5%
122	Puerto Rico	93.33%
123	Myanmar	93.09%
124	United Arab Emirates	92.99%
125	Sri Lanka	92.61%	64.8%
126	Brazil	92.59%
127	Dominican Republic	92.47%
128	Kosovo	91.9%
129	São Tomé and Príncipe	91.75%
130	Libya	91.39%
131	Namibia	90.82%
132	Mauritius	90.62%
133	Saint Lucia	90.1%
134	United States Virgin Islands	90%
135	Federated States of Micronesia	89%
136	Jamaica	88.5%
137	Honduras	88.42%
138	Botswana	88.22%
139	El Salvador	87.65%	33.6%
140	Guyana	87.54%
141	Eswatini	87.47%
142	Iran	87.17%
143	Zimbabwe	86.87%
144	Syria	86.3%
145	Burundi	85.5%
146	Zambia	85.12%
147	Vanuatu	85.06%
148	Solomon Islands	84.1%
149	Gabon	83.24%
150	Belize	82.78%	43.3%
151	Nicaragua	82.47%
152	Tunisia	81.05%
153	Tanzania	80.36%
154	Laos	79.87%
155	Iraq	79.72%
156	Algeria	79.61%
157	Lesotho	79.36%
158	Republic of the Congo	79.31%
159	Guatemala	79.07%
160	Cambodia	78.35%
161	Comoros	78.14%
162	Kenya	78.02%
163	Democratic Republic of the Congo	77.22%
164	Ghana	76.58%
165	Egypt	75.84%
166	Cameroon	74.99%
167	Eritrea	73.85%
168	Uganda	73.81%
169	India	72.23%
170	Morocco	71.71%
171	Rwanda	71.24%
172	Angola	71.16%
173	Yemen	69.96%
174	Djibouti	67.9%
175	Togo	66.54%
176	Malawi	65.96%
177	Madagascar	64.66%
178	Nepal	64.66%
179	East Timor	64.07%
180	Bhutan	63.91%
181	Papua New Guinea	63.43%
182	Bangladesh	61.49%	36.8%
183	Haiti	60.69%
184	Guinea-Bissau	59.77%
185	Nigeria	59.57%
186	Mozambique	58.84%
187	Sudan	58.6%
188	Pakistan	56.44%
189	Senegal	55.62%
190	Mauritania	52.12%
191	Ethiopia	49.03%
192	Sierra Leone	48.43%
193	Liberia	47.6%
194	Ivory Coast	43.27%
195	Chad	40.02%
196	Benin	38.45%
197	Afghanistan	38.17%
198	Somalia	37.8%
199	Burkina Faso	37.75%
200	Central African Republic	36.75%
201	Mali	33.07%	5.4%
202	South Sudan	31.98%
203	Guinea	30.47%
204	Niger	19.1%

Countries with Highest Literacy Rates

The countries with the highest literacy rates are Andorra, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, North Korea, Norway, Uzbekistan, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. Andorra has the highest literacy rate in the world, with a literacy rate of 100%. Finland has the second highest literacy rate globally, with a literacy rate of 100%. Liechtenstein has the third highest literacy rate, with a literacy rate of 100%. Luxembourg has the fourth highest literacy rate in the world, with a literacy rate of 100%. North Korea has the fifth highest literacy rate globally, with a literacy rate of 100%. Norway has the sixth highest literacy rate, with a literacy rate of 100%. Uzbekistan has the seventh highest literacy rate in the world, with a literacy rate of 100%. Latvia has the eighth highest literacy rate globally, with a literacy rate of 99.89%. Estonia has the ninth highest literacy rate, with a literacy rate of 99.82%. Lithuania has the tenth highest literacy rate in the world, with a literacy rate of 99.82%.

The ten countries with the highest literacy rates are:

1. Andorra – 100%
2. Finland – 100%
3. Liechtenstein – 100%
4. Luxembourg – 100%
5. North Korea – 100%
6. Norway – 100%
7. Uzbekistan – 100%
8. Latvia – 99.89%
9. Estonia – 99.82%
10. Lithuania – 99.82%

Highest Literacy Rate in the World

The seven countries that have achieved the highest literacy rate in the world, 100%, are Andorra, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, North Korea, Norway, and Uzbekistan. These countries have put in place comprehensive education systems that ensure that every citizen is literate. They have invested heavily in education and have made it a priority in their national development plans. Additionally, their education systems are designed to cater to the needs of all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic background or gender, which helps to ensure that everyone receives an equal opportunity to learn and become literate.

The government of these countries has also placed great emphasis on early childhood education, ensuring that children receive the best possible start in their education journey. For instance, in Finland, the government provides free education to all students, including vocational training and university education. This approach ensures that everyone has access to education, regardless of their financial background. Additionally, Norway has a highly decentralized education system, with a focus on student-centered learning that ensures students are engaged and motivated to learn. Uzbekistan, on the other hand, has made significant progress in its education system, with the government investing in teacher training, curriculum development, and education infrastructure. All these efforts have contributed to the high literacy rates in these countries.

Countries with Lowest Literacy Rates

The countries with the lowest literacy rates are largely located within the African continent. The countries with the lowest literacy rates are Niger, Guinea, South Sudan, Mali, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Somalia, Afghanistan, Benin, and Chad. The country with the lowest literacy rate in the world is Niger, with a literacy rate of 19.1%. The country with the second lowest literacy rate in the world is Guinea, with a literacy rate of 30.47%. South Sudan has the third lowest literacy rate globally, with a literacy rate of 31.98%. Mali has the fourth lowest literacy rate, with a literacy rate of 33.07%. The Central African Republic has the fifth lowest literacy rate in the world, with a literacy rate of 36.75%. Burkina Faso has the sixth lowest literacy rate globally, with a literacy rate of 37.75%. Somalia has the seventh lowest literacy rate, with a literacy rate of 37.8%. Afghanistan has the eighth lowest literacy rate in the world, with a literacy rate of 38.17%. Benin has the ninth lowest literacy rate globally, with a literacy rate of 38.45%. Chad has the tenth lowest literacy rate, with a literacy rate of 40.02%.

The ten countries with the lowest literacy rates are:

1. Niger – 19.1%
2. Guinea – 30.47%
3. South Sudan – 31.98%
4. Mali – 33.07%
5. Central African Republic – 36.75%
6. Burkina Faso – 37.75%
7. Somalia – 37.8%
8. Afghanistan – 38.17%
9. Benin – 38.45%
10. Chad – 40.02%

Lowest Literacy Rate in the World

Niger is the country with the lowest literacy rate in the world, with a literacy rate of 19.1%. This is primarily due to poverty, lack of access to education, and cultural norms that prioritize traditional practices over formal education. The education system in Niger is also underfunded and understaffed, leading to a shortage of qualified teachers and limited resources for students. Furthermore, the country has faced political instability and conflict, which has further hindered its ability to provide education to its citizens. The low literacy rate in Niger has significant social and economic consequences, as it limits individuals’ ability to access better-paying jobs, participate fully in society, and make informed decisions about their health and well-being.