Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)

Percentage of people ages 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement about their everyday life.

Data table

Year	World (%)
1975	65.42
1976	65.57
1977	65.88
1978	66.5
1979	67.15
1980	67.75
1981	68.35
1982	68.93
1983	69.49
1984	70.15
1985	70.73
1986	71.27
1987	71.94
1988	73.55
1989	74.07
1990	74.63
1991	75.06
1992	75.51
1993	75.97
1994	76.42
1995	76.87
1996	77.3
1997	79.3
1998	80.52
1999	80.9
2000	81.12
2001	81.37
2002	81.74
2003	82.22
2004	82.56
2005	82.57
2006	82.53
2007	83.12
2008	83.48
2009	83.8
2010	84.37
2011	84.71
2012	84.91
2013	85.21
2014	85.56
2015	85.96
2016	86.28
2017	86.47
2018	86.76
2019	86.79
2020	86.98
2021	87.17
2022	87.39
2023	87.58
2024	87.74

Per-source values, 2024

Caveats

Self-reported or assessed in irregular census/survey years, not annual; Nepal has seen large gains since the 1980s from a low base.