Data / Rankings / Adult literacy rate, men / Countries

Countries by adult literacy rate, men, 2019

Armenia had the highest adult literacy rate, men of 58 countries in 2019, at 100%. Burkina Faso had the lowest, at 35.4%. The median was 93.3% and the figure for the World was 90.3%. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Highest100Armenia
Lowest35.4Burkina Faso
Median93.358 countries
World90.3History

All countries, 2019

Armenia: 100 %Armenia100Uzbekistan: 100 %Uzbekistan100Georgia: 100 %Georgia100Serbia: 99.9 %Serbia99.9Azerbaijan: 99.9 %Azerbaijan99.9Belarus: 99.9 %Belarus99.9Italy: 99.5 %Italy99.5Türkiye: 99.1 %Türkiye99.1Cuba: 99 %Cuba99Singapore: 98.9 %Singapore98.9Palestine: 98.8 %Palestine98.8Marshall Islands: 98.8 %Marshall Islands98.8Uruguay: 98.5 %Uruguay98.5Samoa: 98.3 %Samoa98.3United Arab Emirates: 98.2 %United Arab Emirates98.2Maldives: 98.2 %Maldives98.2Mongolia: 98.1 %Mongolia98.1Vietnam: 97 %Vietnam97Mexico: 96.3 %Mexico96.3Malaysia: 96.2 %Malaysia96.2Panama: 96.1 %Panama96.1Philippines: 95.7 %Philippines95.7South Africa: 95.6 %South Africa95.6Colombia: 95 %Colombia95Lebanon: 94.8 %Lebanon94.8Vanuatu: 94 %Vanuatu94Paraguay: 93.8 %Paraguay93.8Brazil: 93.6 %Brazil93.6Dominican Republic: 93.6 %Dominican Republic93.6Zimbabwe: 93.1 %Zimbabwe93.1Sri Lanka: 93 %Sri Lanka93São Tomé and Príncipe: 92.5 %São Tomé and Príncipe92.5Thailand: 92.5 %Thailand92.5Myanmar: 92.4 %Myanmar92.4Iran: 91.6 %Iran91.6El Salvador: 91.3 %El Salvador91.3Cambodia: 90.9 %Cambodia90.9Honduras: 88.3 %Honduras88.3Tunisia: 87.8 %Tunisia87.8Lesotho: 87.6 %Lesotho87.6Zambia: 86.4 %Zambia86.4Tonga: 83.8 %Tonga83.8India: 82.8 %India82.8Nigeria: 81.6 %Nigeria81.6Togo: 80 %Togo80Nepal: 79.8 %Nepal79.8Bangladesh: 77.4 %Bangladesh77.4Somalia: 74.6 %Somalia74.6Guinea-Bissau: 71.3 %Guinea-Bissau71.3Pakistan: 69.3 %Pakistan69.3Côte d’Ivoire: 67.6 %Côte d’Ivoire67.6Ethiopia: 66.4 %Ethiopia66.4Benin: 61.4 %Benin61.4Central African Republic: 59.8 %Central African Republic59.8Senegal: 57.5 %Senegal57.5Sierra Leone: 54.6 %Sierra Leone54.6Chad: 44.5 %Chad44.5Burkina Faso: 35.4 %Burkina Faso35.4
%. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Literacy rate, adult male, % of males ages 15 and above (SE.ADT.LITR.MA.ZS) via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Armenia1000 pts
1Uzbekistan1000 pts
3Georgia100+0.3 pts
4Serbia99.9n/a
5Azerbaijan99.9n/a
5Belarus99.9n/a
7Italy99.5n/a
8Türkiye99.1n/a
9Cuba99n/a
10Singapore98.9+0.1 pts
11Palestine98.8+0.1 pts
12Marshall Islands98.8n/a
13Uruguay98.5+0.1 pts
14Samoa98.3n/a
15United Arab Emirates98.2n/a
16Maldives98.2n/a
17Mongolia98.1+2.5 pts
18Vietnam97n/a
19Mexico96.3+0.1 pts
20Malaysia96.2+0.1 pts
21Panama96.1+0.2 pts
22Philippines95.7n/a
23South Africa95.6n/a
24Colombia95+0.2 pts
25Lebanon94.8-0.5 pts
26Vanuatu94n/a
27Paraguay93.8-0.7 pts
28Brazil93.6+0.6 pts
29Dominican Republic93.6+0.2 pts
30Zimbabwe93.1n/a
31Sri Lanka93+0.3 pts
32São Tomé and Príncipe92.5n/a
33Thailand92.5-2.7 pts
34Myanmar92.4-4.4 pts
35Iran91.6+0.4 pts
36El Salvador91.3+0.2 pts
37Cambodia90.9n/a
38Honduras88.3+1.1 pts
39Tunisia87.80 pts
40Lesotho87.6+7.3 pts
41Zambia86.4+4.6 pts
42Tonga83.8n/a
43India82.8+0.8 pts
44Nigeria81.6n/a
45Togo80n/a
46Nepal79.8n/a
47Bangladesh77.4+0.8 pts
48Somalia74.6n/a
49Guinea-Bissau71.3n/a
50Pakistan69.30 pts
51Côte d’Ivoire67.6n/a
52Ethiopia66.4n/a
53Benin61.4n/a
54Central African Republic59.8n/a
55Senegal57.5+3 pts
56Sierra Leone54.6-3.7 pts
57Chad44.5n/a
58Burkina Faso35.4-13.8 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Men aged 15 and over who can both read and write, with understanding, a short simple statement about their everyday life, as a percentage of men aged 15 and over. UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

UIS figures from censuses, household surveys and UIS model estimates. Most high-income countries stopped measuring literacy decades ago, so they have no value; a missing value is not a rate of 0 or 100. Countries report in different years, so a ranking for one year covers only some countries.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. 112 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2019 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Literacy rate, adult male, % of males ages 15 and above (SE.ADT.LITR.MA.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.LITR.MA.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

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Questions

Which country has the highest adult literacy rate, men?

Armenia, with 100% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Which country has the lowest adult literacy rate, men?

Burkina Faso, with 35.4% in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Literacy rate, adult male, % of males ages 15 and above (SE.ADT.LITR.MA.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 112 countries have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.

Adult literacy rate, men: other rankings

Countries: more rankings