The literacy rate of a country is the percentage of the people aged 15 and above who can read and write. Data from statista shows how most countries overall 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, Luxembourg and Norway.
It is also worth noting that European countries dominate the top of the list, with many of them having a literacy rate of 99% and above. Similarly, countries in the Asia Pacific region also have high literacy rates. 67.4% of people aged 15 years and above in Africa can read and write. Regionally, Southern Africa presented the highest literacy rate at 80%.
North and East Africa had similar shares of literate people at over 71%. In contrast , 67.5% and 54% of the adult population in central and west Africa could read and write. On the other hand, countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East have lower literacy rates, with some countries having rates below 50%.
The countries with the lowest literacy rates are largely located within the African continent. 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 is guinea amassing a 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 rate of 33.07%. The Central African Republic is fifth with a rate of 36.75%. Burkina Faso is the sixth in line with a literacy rate of 37.75%. Somalia is seventh with a 37.8% rate.
Afghanistan has the eighth lowest literacy rate with 38.17%, Benin has the ninth lowest literacy rate globally with a literacy rate of 38.45%, while Chad comes in tenth with a rate of 40.02%. This can primarily be due to poverty, lack of access to education, and cultural norms that prioritize traditional practices over formal education.
