Data

Literacy rate

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What you should know about this indicator

  • Literacy is a foundational skill. Children need to learn to read so that they can read to learn. When we fail to teach this foundational skill, people have fewer opportunities to lead the rich and interesting lives that a good education offers. This indicator aims to measure the percentage of people aged 15 and older who can read and write a simple sentence about their daily life.
  • The historical data shows that only a very small share of the population, a tiny elite, was able to read and write. Over the course of the last few generations, literacy levels increased, but it remains an important challenge for our time to provide this foundational skill to all.
  • But measuring literacy over time is difficult, as definitions of what it means to be ‘literate’ have varied widely across countries and historical periods. As a result, comparisons should be made with caution.
  • At Our World in Data, we investigated the strengths and shortcomings of the available data on literacy. Based on this work, we've pieced together data from many different sources spanning centuries.
  • 1451–1800: Direct literacy surveys did not exist during this period. Data for Great Britain, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Poland comes from the Charting the Rise of the West study. The authors estimated literacy rates using manuscript and book production as indirect indicators. While more books likely indicated more readers, this approach has clear limitations.
  • 1820–1970 (Global estimates): Estimates for worldwide literacy are drawn from the OECD's How Was Life? Global Wellbeing Since 1820 report, which compiled a global long-run estimate of literacy using available historical records. A key limitation is that early literacy measures often accepted minimal skills — such as the ability to sign marriage documents — which fall short of contemporary literacy standards involving actual reading and writing proficiency.
  • 1900–1950: UNESCO's Progress of literacy in various countries gathered data from 26 countries, revealing substantial variation in definitions. Some countries required only reading or writing skills, others demanded both, and some accepted signature ability as sufficient proof. Age thresholds also varied widely, ranging from 5 to 15 years.
  • 1950: UNESCO's World Illiteracy at Mid-Century marked a significant milestone as the first comprehensive global literacy assessment. Data primarily came from censuses conducted between 1945 and 1954 for populations aged 15 and older. Where census data was unavailable, researchers generated estimates using historical trends and country-specific factors. Given the uncertainty, literacy rates were reported in 5% intervals.
  • 1970–Present: Contemporary data comes from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, based on population censuses or household surveys, and is often self-reported. A person is considered literate if they can read and write a short, simple sentence about everyday life. Many countries also include basic numeracy in this definition. Rates are shown as the percentage of the population aged 15 and above who meet this threshold.
  • Many developed countries have discontinued literacy tracking as rates approached universal levels by the late 20th century, making measurement less relevant for policy purposes.
  • All of this data measures basic literacy — can you read simple text and write your name? It doesn't capture functional literacy — can you understand a job application or follow written instructions? That requires years more education and is much harder to measure historically.

The current UNESCO standard for defining literacy is the percentage of the population age 15 and above who can read, understand and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, 'literacy' also encompasses 'numeracy', the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of literates aged 15 years and over by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.

Literacy rate
Share of adults who can read and write a simple statement about their everyday life.
Source
UNESCO (1957); UNESCO (1953); Buringh and van Zanden (2009); van Zanden, J. et al.; UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Last updated
June 11, 2025
Next expected update
June 2026
Date range
1475–2023
Unit
%

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

This dataset gives an early global picture of adult literacy, using data mostly collected between 1945 and 1954. UNESCO estimated illiteracy rates for people aged 15 and over. In many cases, the numbers came from recent censuses. Where data were missing or outdated, estimates were made using past trends, school or military records, or general information about each country.

Because the data was not always complete, most illiteracy rates are shown in 5% steps. Even in countries with high literacy, a small number of people—about 1–2%—were assumed to be unable to learn to read or write due to disabilities. The estimates use a simple definition of literacy: being able to read or to read and write.

Retrieved on
June 10, 2025
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
UNESCO. (1957). World illiteracy at mid-century: A statistical study. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

This dataset presents UNESCO’s first global survey of adult illiteracy, based on census and official government data from 26 countries. Countries were included if they had illiteracy data for at least three census years since around 1900. The dataset uses the most recent available figures and shows how literacy levels changed over time in the first half of the 20th century.

The study notes that countries defined and measured literacy in different ways. Some counted people as literate if they could read or write; others required more, like writing a letter or reading a passage. In some places, being able to sign one’s name was enough; in others, it was not. The age at which people were counted also varied—from as young as 5 to as old as 15.

These differences make it hard to compare literacy rates across countries or even across time within a country. People who could only read or only write were classified differently depending on local rules. Other issues, like missing data and unclear definitions, add to the difficulty. Despite these limits, the dataset offers important insights into global literacy patterns during this period.

Retrieved on
June 10, 2025
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
UNESCO. (1953). Progress of literacy in various countries: a preliminary statistical study of available census data since 1900. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

This paper presents estimates of the production of manuscripts and printed books in Western Europe over a span of thirteen centuries. To estimate literacy levels, the authors first calculate book consumption per capita, then convert these figures into literacy rates using two key inputs: historical trends in book prices and an assumed elasticity of demand for books. The book price data are sourced from the work of Jan Luiten van Zanden and Gregory Clark, while the elasticity of demand—reflecting how book consumption responds to price changes—is set at 1.4, based on contemporary economic literature. This method assumes that lower book prices made books more accessible, which in turn helped to increase literacy rates.

Retrieved on
June 9, 2025
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Buringh, E., & van Zanden, J. L. (2009). Charting the “Rise of the West”: Manuscripts and printed books in Europe, a long‐term perspective from the sixth through the eighteenth centuries. The Journal of Economic History, 69(2), 409–445. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050709000837

The data comes from the How Was Life? Global Well-being Since 1820 report by the OECD. It notes that the concept of literacy has changed over time, which affects how it is measured. In earlier periods, literacy was broadly understood as being “educated” or “learned.” However, by the late 19th century, the definition narrowed to mean the ability to read and write simple texts. This shift in meaning was driven by the spread of mass education, which emphasized basic reading and writing skills for large populations. As a result, historical estimates of literacy are based on differing definitions over time, making it important to interpret the data within its historical context.

Retrieved on
August 14, 2023
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
van Zanden, J., et al. (eds.) (2014), How Was Life?: Global Well-being since 1820, Education, OECD Publishing, Paris. Available at https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/how-was-life/education-since-1820_9789264214262-9-en. Accessed on 14th August 2023.

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is the official and trusted source of internationally-comparable data on education, science, culture and communication. As the official statistical agency of UNESCO, the UIS produces a wide range of state-of-the-art databases to fuel the policies and investments needed to transform lives and propel the world towards its development goals. The UIS provides free access to data for all UNESCO countries and regional groupings from 1970 to the most recent year available.

Retrieved on
May 1, 2025
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), Education, https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, 2025

How we process data at Our World in Data

All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

At the link below you can find a detailed description of the structure of our data pipeline, including links to all the code used to prepare data across Our World in Data.

Read about our data pipeline
Notes on our processing step for this indicator
  • This dataset combines historical and contemporary literacy rates from various sources to provide a long-term view of global literacy trends from 1451 to the present.
  • When only the illiteracy rate was reported, the literacy rate was calculated by subtracting it from 100%.
  • For 1950, data was reported as a range (e.g. 10–20%). To allow for consistent analysis, these ranges were converted into single-point estimates by taking their midpoint. For example, a range of 10–20% was recorded as 15%.

Reuse this work

  • All data produced by third-party providers and made available by Our World in Data are subject to the license terms from the original providers. Our work would not be possible without the data providers we rely on, so we ask you to always cite them appropriately (see below). This is crucial to allow data providers to continue doing their work, enhancing, maintaining and updating valuable data.
  • All data, visualizations, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.

Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Literacy rate”, part of the following publication: Hannah Ritchie, Veronika Samborska, Natasha Ahuja, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, and Max Roser (2023) - “Global Education”. Data adapted from UNESCO, Buringh and van Zanden, van Zanden, J. et al., UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cross-country-literacy-rates [online resource]
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data

Full citation

UNESCO (1957); UNESCO (1953); Buringh and van Zanden (2009); van Zanden, J. et al.; UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “Literacy rate” [dataset]. UNESCO, “World illiteracy at mid-century”; UNESCO, “Progress of literacy in various countries”; Buringh and van Zanden, “Charting the “Rise of the West”: Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A Long-Term Perspective from the Sixth through Eighteenth Centuries”; van Zanden, J. et al., “How Was Life? Global Well-being since 1820 - Education 2014”; UNESCO Institute for Statistics, “UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) - Education” [original data]. Retrieved June 19, 2025 from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cross-country-literacy-rates