Adult Literacy Rate Progress by Region: 1990 vs 2016
Key Findings
About This Dataset
Adult Literacy Rate Progress by Region: 1990 vs 2016Southern Asia made the most dramatic improvement in adult literacy between 1990 and 2016, rising from 46% to 72% - a gain of 26 percentage points. Northern Africa and Western Asia increased by 17 points (64% to 81%), while Eastern and South-Eastern Asia grew from 82% to 96%. Sub-Saharan Africa, despite improving from 52% to 65%, still has the lowest regional adult literacy rate in 2016. Latin America and the Caribbean already had a high base in 1990 at 85%, reaching 94% by 2016. Regions with the lowest starting points made proportionally larger gains, reflecting expanded school access, though significant gaps remain in Africa and Southern Asia.
Data Insights
Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart
Methodology & source
- Data source
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics
- Coverage
- 10 entities · 10 observations
- Measure
- Adult Literacy Rate (%)
- Last updated
- 29 June 2026
- Compiled by
- The ANYSTAT team, from the source above
- Values use the measure and unit named on this page. Consult the dataset description and cited source for coverage, definitions and any unit conversions. Displayed values may be rounded for readability.
- Entities are ranked highest-first on their value.
Data Sources & References
All external sources cited in this dataset
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