Youth Literacy Rate by Country (2026)

Youth literacy rate measures the percentage of people aged 15-24 who can read and write with comprehension. This indicator tracks literacy achievement among young adults, reflecting recent education system performance and future workforce readiness.

Understanding Youth Literacy Rates

Youth literacy rates provide insight into how well education systems are reaching young people during their formative years. Unlike adult literacy rates that reflect historical education access, youth literacy shows current educational effectiveness. High youth literacy rates indicate strong primary and secondary education systems, while lower rates suggest barriers to educational access or quality.

The 15-24 age group is particularly important because these individuals are entering the workforce, pursuing higher education, or starting families. Their literacy skills directly impact economic productivity, health outcomes, and intergenerational education transfer. Countries with youth literacy rates above 95% typically have universal primary education and strong secondary enrollment, while those below 80% often face challenges with school access, quality, or completion.

Youth Literacy Rate by Country (2026)

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#	Country	2026 Estimate (%)
1	Argentina AR	99.5%
2	Armenia AM	99.5%
3	Australia AU	99.5%
4	Austria AT	99.5%
5	Azerbaijan AZ	99.5%
6	Bahamas BS	99.5%
7	Bahrain BH	99.5%
8	Barbados BB	99.5%
9	Belarus BY	99.5%
10	Belgium BE	99.5%
11	Bolivia BO	99.5%
12	Bosnia and Herzegovina BA	99.5%
13	Brazil BR	99.5%
14	Canada CA	99.5%
15	Chile CL	99.5%
16	China CN	99.5%
17	Croatia HR	99.5%
18	Cuba CU	99.5%
19	Cyprus CY	99.5%
20	Czech Republic CZ	99.5%
21	Denmark DK	99.5%
22	Estonia EE	99.5%
23	Finland FI	99.5%
24	France FR	99.5%
25	Georgia GE	99.5%
26	Germany DE	99.5%
27	Greece GR	99.5%
28	Grenada GD	99.5%
29	Hong Kong HK	99.5%
30	Hungary HU	99.5%
31	Iceland IS	99.5%
32	Ireland IE	99.5%
33	Israel IL	99.5%
34	Italy IT	99.5%
35	Japan JP	99.5%
36	Jordan JO	99.5%
37	Kazakhstan KZ	99.5%
38	Kyrgyzstan KG	99.5%
39	Latvia LV	99.5%
40	Libya LY	99.5%
41	Liechtenstein LI	99.5%
42	Lithuania LT	99.5%
43	Luxembourg LU	99.5%
44	Macau MO	99.5%
45	Mauritius MU	99.5%
46	Mexico MX	99.5%
47	Moldova MD	99.5%
48	Monaco MC	99.5%
49	Mongolia MN	99.5%
50	Netherlands NL	99.5%
51	New Zealand NZ	99.5%
52	North Korea KP	99.5%
53	Norway NO	99.5%
54	Oman OM	99.5%
55	Palau PW	99.5%
56	Palestine PS	99.5%
57	Panama PA	99.5%
58	Peru PE	99.5%
59	Philippines PH	99.5%
60	Poland PL	99.5%
61	Portugal PT	99.5%
62	Romania RO	99.5%
63	Russia RU	99.5%
64	Saint Kitts and Nevis KN	99.5%
65	Saint Lucia LC	99.5%
66	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VC	99.5%
67	San Marino SM	99.5%
68	Saudi Arabia SA	99.5%
69	Serbia RS	99.5%
70	Singapore SG	99.5%
71	Slovakia SK	99.5%
72	Slovenia SI	99.5%
73	Solomon Islands SB	99.5%
74	South Korea KR	99.5%
75	Spain ES	99.5%
76	Sweden SE	99.5%
77	Switzerland CH	99.5%
78	Tonga TO	99.5%
79	Turkmenistan TM	99.5%
80	Tuvalu TV	99.5%
81	Ukraine UA	99.5%
82	United Arab Emirates AE	99.5%
83	United Kingdom GB	99.5%
84	United States US	99.5%
85	Uzbekistan UZ	99.5%
86	Albania AL	99.4%
87	Brunei BN	99.4%
88	Ecuador EC	99.4%
89	Kuwait KW	99.4%
90	Sri Lanka LK	99.4%
91	Aruba AW	99.3%
92	Colombia CO	99.3%
93	Guyana GY	99.3%
94	Uruguay UY	99.3%
95	Vietnam VN	99.3%
96	Samoa WS	99.2%
97	Seychelles SC	99.2%
98	Malta MT	99.1%
99	Iran IR	99%
100	Malaysia MY	99%
101	Tajikistan TJ	99%
102	Eswatini SZ	98.9%
103	Maldives MV	98.9%
104	North Macedonia MK	98.9%
105	Paraguay PY	98.9%
106	Qatar QA	98.9%
107	Venezuela VE	98.9%
108	Cape Verde CV	98.6%
109	Syria SY	98.6%
110	Dominican Republic DO	98.5%
111	El Salvador SV	98.5%
112	Tunisia TN	98.5%
113	Thailand TH	98.4%
114	Bulgaria BG	98.1%
115	Bhutan BT	98%
116	Suriname SR	97.9%
117	Montenegro ME	97.6%
118	South Africa ZA	97.5%
119	Equatorial Guinea GQ	97.3%
120	India IN	97.3%
121	Cambodia KH	97.1%
122	Lebanon LB	97%
123	Lesotho LS	97%
124	Marshall Islands MH	96.8%
125	Myanmar MM	96.7%
126	Belize BZ	96.6%
127	Honduras HN	96.3%
128	Guatemala GT	95.9%
129	Sao Tome and Principe ST	95.8%
130	Egypt EG	95.6%
131	Nicaragua NI	95.6%
132	Vanuatu VU	94.6%
133	Gabon GA	94.5%
134	Algeria DZ	94.4%
135	Botswana BW	94.4%
136	Indonesia ID	94.4%
137	Jamaica JM	94.1%
138	Bangladesh BD	94%
139	Kenya KE	93.8%
140	Nepal NP	93%
141	Iraq IQ	92.9%
142	Zimbabwe ZW	92.9%
143	Namibia NA	92.8%
144	Puerto Rico PR	92.8%
145	Türkiye TR	92.8%
146	Papua New Guinea PG	92.7%
147	Trinidad and Tobago TT	92.6%
148	Ghana GH	92.3%
149	Micronesia FM	92.3%
150	Nauru NR	92.3%
151	Comoros KM	91.6%
152	Laos LA	91.4%
153	Rwanda RW	91.2%
154	Togo TG	91.2%
155	Kiribati KI	90.9%
156	Uganda UG	90.8%
157	Morocco MA	90%
158	Haiti HT	89.8%
159	Burundi BI	89.3%
160	Tanzania TZ	88%
161	Eritrea ER	87.9%
162	Zambia ZM	86.9%
163	Yemen YE	86.5%
164	Ethiopia ET	85.9%
165	Timor-Leste TL	85.8%
166	DR Congo CD	84.5%
167	Madagascar MG	83.6%
168	Guinea-Bissau GW	83.4%
169	Nigeria NG	82.9%
170	Cameroon CM	82.6%
171	Malawi MW	81.2%
172	Costa Rica CR	81%
173	Djibouti DJ	80.2%
174	Congo CG	79.2%
175	Angola AO	76.6%
176	Liberia LR	76.3%
177	Pakistan PK	74.3%
178	Sierra Leone SL	73.6%
179	Mozambique MZ	72.6%
180	Benin BJ	72.5%
181	Mauritania MR	71.5%
182	Somalia SO	71.5%
183	Senegal SN	68.9%
184	Gambia GM	68.7%
185	Ivory Coast CI	68%
186	Sudan SD	66.4%
187	Burkina Faso BF	64.4%
188	Afghanistan AF	64.3%
189	Niger NE	55.9%
190	Guinea GN	55.4%
191	Mali ML	54.4%
192	Central African Republic CF	51.2%
193	Chad TD	46.2%
194	South Sudan SS	37.3%

Global Youth Literacy Leaders

Several countries have achieved near-universal youth literacy, with rates exceeding 99%. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and many European nations demonstrate that comprehensive education systems can virtually eliminate youth illiteracy. These countries benefit from strong education infrastructure, compulsory schooling laws, and high secondary enrollment rates.

East Asian nations like China (99.8%) and South Korea show how rapid economic development combined with education investment can achieve exceptional literacy outcomes. Latin American countries including Brazil (99.4%), Argentina (99.5%), and Chile (99.0%) have made significant progress through education reforms and expanded school access over recent decades.

Regional Patterns and Challenges

Sub-Saharan Africa shows the widest variation in youth literacy rates. While countries like Botswana (95.9%) and South Africa (95.8%) approach universal youth literacy, others like Niger (37.3%), Chad (38.5%), and Mali (46.5%) face substantial challenges. These disparities reflect differences in education infrastructure, economic resources, and historical education investment.

South Asia has made remarkable progress, with India reaching 97.0% youth literacy and Bangladesh at 93.4%. These improvements stem from large-scale education initiatives, increased school construction, and efforts to reduce gender gaps in education access. The Middle East and North Africa region shows mixed results, with Gulf states achieving near-universal literacy while conflict-affected countries like Yemen (85.7%) face ongoing challenges.

Youth Literacy Trends 2020-2024

The timeline below shows youth literacy rates for 158 countries from 2020 to 2024, along with 2026 projections. These years represent the most recent period with available data, allowing for meaningful trend analysis across diverse regions and income levels. While 2024 data is available for 20 countries, most countries have data through 2022-2023.

Youth Literacy Rate by Country (2026)

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#	Country	2020 (%)	2021 (%)	2022 (%)	2023 (%)	2024 (%)	2026 Estimate (%)
1	Argentina	99.68%	-	-	-	-	99.5%
2	Armenia	99.87%	-	99.77%	99.89%	-	99.5%
3	Australia	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
4	Austria	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
5	Azerbaijan	-	-	-	99.88%	-	99.5%
6	Bahamas	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
7	Bahrain	-	-	99.2%	99.25%	99.52%	99.5%
8	Barbados	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
9	Belarus	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
10	Belgium	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
11	Bolivia	99.56%	99.5%	-	99.52%	-	99.5%
12	Bosnia and Herzegovina	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
13	Brazil	99.2%	99.3%	99.3%	99.3%	99.36%	99.5%
14	Canada	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
15	Chile	-	-	99.3%	-	-	99.5%
16	China	99.76%	-	-	-	-	99.5%
17	Croatia	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
18	Cuba	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
19	Cyprus	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
20	Czech Republic	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
21	Denmark	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
22	Estonia	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
23	Finland	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
24	France	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
25	Georgia	99.76%	100%	99.69%	99.34%	99.66%	99.5%
26	Germany	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
27	Greece	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
28	Grenada	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
29	Hong Kong	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
30	Hungary	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
31	Iceland	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
32	Ireland	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
33	Israel	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
34	Italy	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
35	Japan	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
36	Jordan	-	-	-	99.22%	-	99.5%
37	Kazakhstan	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
38	Kyrgyzstan	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
39	Latvia	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
40	Libya	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
41	Liechtenstein	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
42	Lithuania	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
43	Luxembourg	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
44	Macau	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
45	Mauritius	-	99.91%	100%	99.8%	-	99.5%
46	Mexico	99.08%	99.25%	99%	99.16%	99.2%	99.5%
47	Moldova	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
48	Monaco	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
49	Mongolia	99.07%	99.86%	99.69%	99.49%	-	99.5%
50	Netherlands	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
51	New Zealand	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
52	North Korea	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
53	Norway	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
54	Oman	99.68%	-	99.66%	-	-	99.5%
55	Palau	100%	-	-	-	-	99.5%
56	Palestine	99.23%	99.39%	99.36%	-	99.4%	99.5%
57	Panama	-	99.3%	99.3%	98.9%	99.2%	99.5%
58	Peru	99.44%	99.1%	99.3%	99.4%	99.49%	99.5%
59	Philippines	99.22%	-	99.77%	-	-	99.5%
60	Poland	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
61	Portugal	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
62	Romania	-	99.94%	-	-	-	99.5%
63	Russia	-	99.92%	-	-	-	99.5%
64	Saint Kitts and Nevis	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
65	Saint Lucia	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
66	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
67	San Marino	-	-	100%	-	-	99.5%
68	Saudi Arabia	99.5%	-	-	-	99.89%	99.5%
69	Serbia	-	-	99.74%	-	-	99.5%
70	Singapore	99.73%	99.89%	-	-	-	99.5%
71	Slovakia	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
72	Slovenia	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
73	Solomon Islands	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
74	South Korea	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
75	Spain	99.62%	99.73%	-	-	-	99.5%
76	Sweden	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
77	Switzerland	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
78	Tonga	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
79	Turkmenistan	-	-	99.9%	-	-	99.5%
80	Tuvalu	-	-	100%	-	-	99.5%
81	Ukraine	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
82	United Arab Emirates	-	99.66%	99.66%	99.54%	99.61%	99.5%
83	United Kingdom	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
84	United States	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
85	Uzbekistan	-	100%	100%	-	-	99.5%
86	Albania	-	-	-	99.06%	-	99.4%
87	Brunei	-	-	-	-	-	99.4%
88	Ecuador	98.77%	99.01%	99.63%	99.1%	-	99.4%
89	Kuwait	99.3%	-	-	-	-	99.4%
90	Sri Lanka	98.86%	98.93%	98.81%	99.11%	-	99.4%
91	Aruba	-	-	-	-	-	99.3%
92	Colombia	99.01%	99.1%	98.9%	99%	98.96%	99.3%
93	Guyana	99.14%	-	-	-	-	99.3%
94	Uruguay	99.03%	99.2%	99.13%	99%	99.02%	99.3%
95	Vietnam	98.2%	-	99.05%	-	-	99.3%
96	Samoa	-	-	-	-	-	99.2%
97	Seychelles	-	-	-	-	-	99.2%
98	Malta	-	-	-	-	-	99.1%
99	Iran	98.45%	98.59%	98.65%	98.74%	-	99%
100	Malaysia	-	-	98.79%	-	-	99%
101	Tajikistan	-	-	-	-	-	99%
102	Eswatini	-	-	98.66%	-	-	98.9%
103	Maldives	-	-	-	-	-	98.9%
104	North Macedonia	-	-	-	-	-	98.9%
105	Paraguay	98.64%	98.6%	98.6%	98.9%	98.62%	98.9%
106	Qatar	-	-	-	-	-	98.9%
107	Venezuela	-	-	-	-	-	98.9%
108	Cape Verde	-	-	-	-	98.32%	98.6%
109	Syria	-	98.39%	-	-	-	98.6%
110	Dominican Republic	98.9%	98.8%	98.5%	98.5%	98.21%	98.5%
111	El Salvador	98.52%	98.1%	98.3%	98.05%	98.24%	98.5%
112	Tunisia	-	98.94%	-	98.16%	-	98.5%
113	Thailand	-	-	98.17%	-	-	98.4%
114	Bulgaria	-	-	-	-	-	98.1%
115	Bhutan	-	-	97.73%	-	-	98%
116	Suriname	-	-	-	-	-	97.9%
117	Montenegro	-	-	-	-	-	97.6%
118	South Africa	-	96.7%	-	-	97.17%	97.5%
119	Equatorial Guinea	-	-	-	-	-	97.3%
120	India	95.68%	95.89%	96.54%	97.04%	-	97.3%
121	Cambodia	94.32%	91.83%	-	96.57%	-	97.1%
122	Lebanon	-	-	-	-	-	97%
123	Lesotho	-	-	-	-	96.48%	97%
124	Marshall Islands	-	96.35%	-	-	-	96.8%
125	Myanmar	96.36%	-	-	-	-	96.7%
126	Belize	-	-	96.15%	-	-	96.6%
127	Honduras	-	-	95.9%	95.56%	95.77%	96.3%
128	Guatemala	-	-	94.98%	97%	95.36%	95.9%
129	Sao Tome and Principe	-	-	-	-	-	95.8%
130	Egypt	-	96.61%	95.19%	-	-	95.6%
131	Nicaragua	-	-	-	-	-	95.6%
132	Vanuatu	88.66%	-	-	93.93%	-	94.6%
133	Gabon	-	93.98%	-	-	-	94.5%
134	Algeria	-	-	-	-	-	94.4%
135	Botswana	-	-	-	-	-	94.4%
136	Indonesia	99.78%	-	93.79%	-	-	94.4%
137	Jamaica	-	-	93.57%	-	-	94.1%
138	Bangladesh	94.46%	94.83%	93.45%	-	-	94%
139	Kenya	-	-	-	-	-	93.8%
140	Nepal	-	-	92.4%	-	-	93%
141	Iraq	-	92.39%	-	-	-	92.9%
142	Zimbabwe	-	-	-	-	-	92.9%
143	Namibia	-	-	-	92.13%	-	92.8%
144	Puerto Rico	-	-	-	-	-	92.8%
145	Türkiye	-	99.96%	92.23%	-	-	92.8%
146	Papua New Guinea	-	-	91.92%	-	-	92.7%
147	Trinidad and Tobago	-	-	92%	-	-	92.6%
148	Ghana	-	91.51%	-	-	-	92.3%
149	Micronesia	-	-	-	-	-	92.3%
150	Nauru	-	91.75%	-	-	-	92.3%
151	Comoros	-	90.84%	-	-	-	91.6%
152	Laos	-	-	93.82%	90.39%	-	91.4%
153	Rwanda	91.51%	-	89.97%	-	-	91.2%
154	Togo	-	-	90.36%	-	-	91.2%
155	Kiribati	-	-	-	-	-	90.9%
156	Uganda	-	89.63%	-	-	-	90.8%
157	Morocco	-	-	-	-	-	90%
158	Haiti	-	-	-	-	-	89.8%
159	Burundi	88.4%	-	-	-	-	89.3%
160	Tanzania	87.55%	-	87.07%	-	-	88%
161	Eritrea	-	-	-	-	-	87.9%
162	Zambia	85.86%	84.15%	84.48%	85.71%	-	86.9%
163	Yemen	-	-	-	-	-	86.5%
164	Ethiopia	-	79.67%	84.69%	-	-	85.9%
165	Timor-Leste	-	-	84.87%	-	-	85.8%
166	DR Congo	-	-	-	-	-	84.5%
167	Madagascar	-	82.38%	-	-	-	83.6%
168	Guinea-Bissau	-	-	82.23%	-	-	83.4%
169	Nigeria	-	73.67%	-	-	81.36%	82.9%
170	Cameroon	-	-	-	-	-	82.6%
171	Malawi	80.73%	-	-	-	-	81.2%
172	Costa Rica	-	-	-	-	-	81%
173	Djibouti	-	-	-	-	-	80.2%
174	Congo	-	-	-	-	-	79.2%
175	Angola	-	-	-	-	-	76.6%
176	Liberia	-	-	-	-	-	76.3%
177	Pakistan	-	73.13%	-	-	-	74.3%
178	Sierra Leone	-	-	-	-	-	73.6%
179	Mozambique	70.08%	-	71.44%	-	-	72.6%
180	Benin	-	65.32%	71.25%	-	-	72.5%
181	Mauritania	70.86%	-	-	-	-	71.5%
182	Somalia	-	-	70.71%	-	-	71.5%
183	Senegal	-	-	75.28%	67.45%	-	68.9%
184	Gambia	-	67.49%	-	-	-	68.7%
185	Ivory Coast	-	66.84%	-	-	-	68%
186	Sudan	-	-	-	-	-	66.4%
187	Burkina Faso	-	62.67%	62.81%	-	-	64.4%
188	Afghanistan	53.97%	55.93%	62.66%	-	-	64.3%
189	Niger	-	-	53.91%	-	-	55.9%
190	Guinea	-	-	-	-	-	55.4%
191	Mali	53.35%	-	-	-	-	54.4%
192	Central African Republic	-	-	-	-	-	51.2%
193	Chad	-	-	-	-	-	46.2%
194	South Sudan	-	-	-	-	-	37.3%

Methodology

This analysis examines youth literacy rates (ages 15-24) for 158 countries using UNESCO Institute for Statistics data spanning 2000-2025. The 2026 projections represent scenario-based estimates derived through individual country assessment, not official forecasts or precise predictions.

Each country projection involved qualitative analysis of historical literacy trends, education system development, school enrollment patterns, and regional context. For countries with recent data (2020+), projections continue observed trends while accounting for saturation effects at high literacy levels. Countries approaching 97-99% literacy face natural ceilings as they reach near-universal coverage.

For countries with older data, projections considered education infrastructure development, primary and secondary enrollment expansion, and regional literacy improvements during the intervening years. Youth literacy typically improves faster than adult literacy because it reflects current education access rather than historical patterns. These contextual factors inform direction and magnitude qualitatively, not as precise quantitative inputs.

Literacy rates above 95% grow slowly due to saturation effects, while countries below 80% have greater improvement potential if education access expands. Projections are rounded to one decimal place to reflect inherent uncertainty in forward-looking estimates. Results represent estimated shares of youth populations with basic literacy skills, acknowledging that literacy exists on a continuum from basic to advanced proficiency.