December 8, 2025 - International Literacy Day, on 8 September, is a reminder that 773 million adults in the world (around 14% of the population) cannot read or write. Two-thirds of them are women. Yet literacy is a fundamental human right.

November 7, 2005 - Over 75% of the world's 781 million ... adults globally. Data published by UNESCO using the following definitions: Youth: Percentage of people aged 15 to 24 years who can both read and write, with understanding, a short simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, "literacy" also encompasses "numeracy", the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. Adult: Percentage of the population aged 25 years ...

September 20, 2018 - From a historical perspective, literacy levels for the world population have risen drastically in the last couple of centuries. While only one in ten people in the world could read and write in 1820, today, the share has reversed, with only ...

3 weeks ago - Global literacy rates have improved significantly between 1975 and 2024: the global adult literacy rate (aged 15+) from 65% to 88%, and the global youth literacy rate (aged 18–24) from 75% to 93%. Despite this, worldwide at least 739 million adults still cannot read and write, two thirds ...

July 2, 2026 - The global adult literacy rate (ages 15+) is approximately 87% in 2024, up from 76% in 2000 and 42% in 1960. Youth literacy (ages 15–24) is higher at 94%. However, 754 million adults worldwide still cannot read or write, with 63% of them being ...

September 8, 2012 - In order to reach that target, 6 per cent of the world population, or more than 360 million people, will have to become literate. That's like teaching the entire population of the United States and Canada to read and write, in just three years.

1 week ago - Global literacy stands at 87.74% in 2026. Uzbekistan (100%), North Korea (100%), and Norway (100%) lead with universal literacy, while Mali (35.47%), Chad (30.63%), and South Sudan (26.83%) face the greatest challenges.

July 29, 2024 - Today, the corresponding global literacy rate — the share of adults aged 15 and older who can read and write — is 87%. That means more than 5 billion people can read and write today, compared to fewer than 100 million two centuries ago.

The global number of illiterate adults declined from 754 million in 2023 to 739 million in 2024. This decrease reflects both revised · population estimates from the UN Population Division’s 2024 World Population Prospects (WPP) and updated national literacy

The sad news is that 16 percent ... Takedown request | View complete answer on ouriginal.com · On a global scale, illiteracy affects 774 million adults aged 15 or older....

Answer (1 of 2): I'm skeptical of the 90% number. One of the issues is that there's no standardized definition for 'literacy', or what it means to be able to read/write. But I've seen lower numbers. Some (wildly varying) data points: - CIA Factbook: 82% (87% of males > age 15, 77% of females) h...

March 8, 2023 - While the number of illiterate people in the world continues to decline, there are still approximately 773 million people in the world who cannot read.

September 7, 2023 - Worldwide, it is estimated that approximately 17 percent of adults are unable to read or write, which is a significant social issue. Among this illiterate population, about two-thirds, or approximately 63%, are women.

3 weeks ago - UNESCO has been working to realize ... and brings with it huge empowerment and benefits. But despite progress globally, 739 million adults (UNESCO Institue for Statistics, 2025) still cannot read and write....

In 20 years the proportion of adults in the world who can read and write has increased from 75% to 84%.

Answer: Literate/illiterate is usually presented as a binary thing—either you can or you can’t. In reality, it is much more complicated than that. The number of people who are *totally illiterate,* in which the writing of their native language means as much to them as this means to me: ...

2 days ago - UNESCO proclaimed International Literacy Day in 1966. But despite progress globally, 739 million adults (UNESCO Institue for Statistics, 2025) still cannot read and write. Global literacy rates have improved significantly between 1975 and 2024: ...

Two centuries ago, only 1 in 10 adults could read. Today, it’s almost 9 in 10 ... Literacy rate of young men vs. womenScatterplot · Literacy rate vs. GDP per capita · Literacy rate vs. average years of schooling · Literacy rates of older ...

September 29, 2017 - Can You Read This? 12% of the world’s population are considered illiterate. That means that out of the 7.4 billion people on planet Earth, 781 million of them cannot read or write in their native …

3 days ago - Yet Unesco notes that the number of illiterate adults rose from 196 million to 225 million between 2015 and the latest estimates, as population growth outpaced improvement in literacy rates.