Lowest Literacy Rates

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

The countries with the lowest literacy rate, defined as the ability to read and write at a specified age.

The figures given are from 2015, the last year in which UNESCO did a global analysis. 

1. South Sudan 27.0%
2. Afghanistan 28.1
3. Niger 28.7
4. Burkina Faso 28.7
5. Mali 33.4
6. Chad 35.4
7. Somalia 37.8
8. Ethiopia 39.0
9. Guinea 41.0
10. Benin 42.4

 

NOTE: Country rankings aren't definitive; instead they provide an approximate comparison. Country data vary enormously depending on the sources, and there is an absence of reliable data on some countries. Source: The World Factbook and UNESCO

 

 

General World Statistics

 

 
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