Updated September 9, 2022 |
Infoplease Staff
Table of contents
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 |
