Data / Rankings / Youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24 / Countries

Countries by youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24

Armenia had the highest youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24 of 62 countries in 2019, at 100%. Chad had the lowest, at 45.1%. The median was 98.4% and the figure for the World was 92.6%. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

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Highest100Armenia
Lowest45.1Chad
Median98.462 countries
World92.6History

Map of countries, 2019

United Arab Emirates: 98.4 %Armenia: 100 %Azerbaijan: 99.9 %Bangladesh: 94.9 %Burkina Faso: 47 %Benin: 69.3 %Bolivia: 99.5 %Brazil: 99.1 %Belarus: 99.9 %Central African Republic: 50.6 %Côte d’Ivoire: 68.1 %Colombia: 98.8 %Cuba: 99.6 %Dominican Republic: 98.7 %Ecuador: 98.5 %Ethiopia: 79.1 %Georgia: 100 %Guinea-Bissau: 75.3 %Honduras: 96.1 %India: 94.8 %Iran: 98.5 %Italy: 99.9 %Cambodia: 94.8 %Kiribati: 90.4 %Lebanon: 96.7 %Sri Lanka: 99 %Lesotho: 97.5 %Myanmar: 95.4 %Mongolia: 98.8 %Mexico: 99.2 %Malaysia: 96.8 %Nepal: 94.2 %Panama: 98.9 %Peru: 99.1 %Philippines: 98.4 %Pakistan: 72.7 %Palestine: 99.3 %Paraguay: 98.4 %Serbia: 100 %Singapore: 99.9 %Sierra Leone: 73 %Senegal: 66.5 %Somalia: 78.4 %El Salvador: 98.3 %Chad: 45.1 %Togo: 87.9 %Thailand: 98.5 %Tunisia: 96.8 %Türkiye: 99.9 %Uruguay: 99 %Uzbekistan: 100 %Vietnam: 98.6 %Vanuatu: 96.2 %Samoa: 99 %South Africa: 98.4 %Zambia: 84 %Zimbabwe: 92.5 %
  • Under 79
  • 79 to 95
  • 95 to 98
  • 98 to 99
  • 99 to 100
  • 100 and over
  • No data
%, 2019. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Literacy rate, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS) via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

Top 40 countries, 2019

Armenia: 100 %Armenia100Georgia: 100 %Georgia100Serbia: 100 %Serbia100Uzbekistan: 100 %Uzbekistan100Azerbaijan: 99.9 %Azerbaijan99.9Singapore: 99.9 %Singapore99.9Türkiye: 99.9 %Türkiye99.9Tonga: 99.9 %Tonga99.9Belarus: 99.9 %Belarus99.9Italy: 99.9 %Italy99.9Cuba: 99.6 %Cuba99.6Bolivia: 99.5 %Bolivia99.5Palestine: 99.3 %Palestine99.3Mexico: 99.2 %Mexico99.2Brazil: 99.1 %Brazil99.1Peru: 99.1 %Peru99.1Samoa: 99 %Samoa99Uruguay: 99 %Uruguay99Sri Lanka: 99 %Sri Lanka99Panama: 98.9 %Panama98.9Mongolia: 98.8 %Mongolia98.8Colombia: 98.8 %Colombia98.8Tuvalu: 98.8 %Tuvalu98.8Maldives: 98.7 %Maldives98.7Dominican Republic: 98.7 %Dominican Republic98.7Vietnam: 98.6 %Vietnam98.6Thailand: 98.5 %Thailand98.5Ecuador: 98.5 %Ecuador98.5Iran: 98.5 %Iran98.5South Africa: 98.4 %South Africa98.4Philippines: 98.4 %Philippines98.4United Arab Emirates: 98.4 %United Arab Emirates98.4Paraguay: 98.4 %Paraguay98.4El Salvador: 98.3 %El Salvador98.3Marshall Islands: 98.1 %Marshall Islands98.1Lesotho: 97.5 %Lesotho97.5Tunisia: 96.8 %Tunisia96.8Malaysia: 96.8 %Malaysia96.8Lebanon: 96.7 %Lebanon96.7Vanuatu: 96.2 %Vanuatu96.2Armenia: 100 %Armenia100Georgia: 100 %Georgia100Serbia: 100 %Serbia100Uzbekistan: 100 %Uzbekistan100Azerbaijan: 99.9 %Azerbaijan99.9Singapore: 99.9 %Singapore99.9Türkiye: 99.9 %Türkiye99.9Tonga: 99.9 %Tonga99.9Belarus: 99.9 %Belarus99.9Italy: 99.9 %Italy99.9Cuba: 99.6 %Cuba99.6Bolivia: 99.5 %Bolivia99.5Palestine: 99.3 %Palestine99.3Mexico: 99.2 %Mexico99.2Brazil: 99.1 %Brazil99.1Peru: 99.1 %Peru99.1Samoa: 99 %Samoa99Uruguay: 99 %Uruguay99Sri Lanka: 99 %Sri Lanka99Panama: 98.9 %Panama98.9Mongolia: 98.8 %Mongolia98.8Colombia: 98.8 %Colombia98.8Tuvalu: 98.8 %Tuvalu98.8Maldives: 98.7 %Maldives98.7Dominican Republic: 98.7 %Dominican Republic98.7Vietnam: 98.6 %Vietnam98.6Thailand: 98.5 %Thailand98.5Ecuador: 98.5 %Ecuador98.5Iran: 98.5 %Iran98.5South Africa: 98.4 %South Africa98.4Philippines: 98.4 %Philippines98.4United Arab Emirates: 98.4 %United Arab Emirates98.4Paraguay: 98.4 %Paraguay98.4El Salvador: 98.3 %El Salvador98.3Marshall Islands: 98.1 %Marshall Islands98.1Lesotho: 97.5 %Lesotho97.5Tunisia: 96.8 %Tunisia96.8Malaysia: 96.8 %Malaysia96.8Lebanon: 96.7 %Lebanon96.7Vanuatu: 96.2 %Vanuatu96.2
%. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Literacy rate, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS) via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Armenia1000 pts
1Georgia100+0.1 pts
1Serbia100n/a
1Uzbekistan1000 pts
5Azerbaijan99.9n/a
5Singapore99.90 pts
7Türkiye99.9+0.5 pts
8Tonga99.9-0.1 pts
9Belarus99.9n/a
9Italy99.9n/a
11Cuba99.6n/a
12Bolivia99.5-0.1 pts
13Palestine99.3-0 pts
14Mexico99.2-0.1 pts
15Brazil99.1-0.1 pts
15Peru99.1+0.1 pts
17Samoa99n/a
17Uruguay99+0.1 pts
19Sri Lanka99+0.2 pts
20Panama98.9-0.2 pts
21Mongolia98.8-0.7 pts
22Colombia98.8-0 pts
23Tuvalu98.8n/a
24Maldives98.7n/a
25Dominican Republic98.7+0.2 pts
26Vietnam98.6n/a
27Thailand98.5+0.4 pts
28Ecuador98.5-0.5 pts
29Iran98.5+0.3 pts
30South Africa98.4n/a
31Philippines98.4n/a
32United Arab Emirates98.4n/a
33Paraguay98.4+0.1 pts
34El Salvador98.3+0.4 pts
35Marshall Islands98.1n/a
36Lesotho97.5+2.3 pts
37Tunisia96.8-1.2 pts
38Malaysia96.8-0.1 pts
39Lebanon96.7-0.1 pts
40Vanuatu96.2n/a
41Honduras96.1-0.4 pts
42São Tomé and Príncipe95.5n/a
43Myanmar95.4-3.7 pts
44Bangladesh94.9+1.6 pts
45India94.8+0.2 pts
46Cambodia94.8n/a
47Nepal94.2n/a
48Zimbabwe92.5n/a
49Kiribati90.4-6.7 pts
50Togo87.9n/a
51Zambia84+6.4 pts
52Ethiopia79.1n/a
53Somalia78.4n/a
54Guinea-Bissau75.3n/a
55Sierra Leone73-4.1 pts
56Pakistan72.7+0.7 pts
57Benin69.3n/a
58Côte d’Ivoire68.1n/a
59Senegal66.5+0.5 pts
60Central African Republic50.6n/a
61Burkina Faso47-11.8 pts
62Chad45.1n/a

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 15 to 24 who can both read and write, with understanding, a short simple statement about their everyday life, as a percentage of the population aged 15 to 24. 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. 110 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, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

Citation styles

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APA 7

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2026). Literacy rate, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS) (Countries by youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24, 2019) [Data set]. World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS

MLA 9

Literacy rate, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS), Countries by youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24, 2019. UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 8 Oct. 2026, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS. World Bank, World Development Indicators, https://data.worldbank.org. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/youth-literacy-rate/countries?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 2026. Literacy rate, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS). Countries by youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24, 2019. Dataset. Distributed by World Bank, World Development Indicators. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/youth-literacy-rate/countries?period=2019.

Harvard

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) Literacy rate, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS), Countries by youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24, 2019 [Dataset]. Via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/youth-literacy-rate/countries?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{unesco_countries_by_youth_literacy_2019,
  author = {{UNESCO Institute for Statistics}},
  title = {{Literacy rate, youth total, \% of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS): Countries by youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  publisher = {World Bank, World Development Indicators},
  url = {https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Retrieved through World Bank, World Development Indicators (https://data.worldbank.org). Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/youth-literacy-rate/countries?period=2019. Publisher attribution: Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Literacy rate, youth total, \% of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - UNESCO Institute for Statistics
TI  - Literacy rate, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS): Countries by youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
PB  - World Bank, World Development Indicators
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/youth-literacy-rate/countries?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Retrieved through World Bank, World Development Indicators (https://data.worldbank.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/youth-literacy-rate/countries?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Literacy rate, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.
ER  -
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Questions

Which country has the highest youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24?

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

Which country has the lowest youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24?

Chad, with 45.1% 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, youth total, % of people ages 15-24 (SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 110 countries have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.

Youth literacy rate, ages 15 to 24: other rankings

Countries: more rankings