Literacy rate — all countries

Literacy rate — East Asia & Pacific

Literacy rate in East Asia & Pacific in 2024 — 96.61%. Since 1976, the indicator has risen by 30.62 pp.

2024 96.61% +0.12 pp vs 2023
World rank
Period maximum 96.61%2024
Period minimum 65.99%1976

Trend over time

1976–2024 · % of population aged 15+

Literacy rate — East Asia & Pacific, 1976–202460708090100197619811986199119962001200620112016202120241976: 65.99%1977: 66.2%1978: 67.29%1979: 68.52%1980: 69.61%1981: 70.64%1982: 71.61%1983: 72.53%1984: 73.51%1985: 74.43%1986: 75.26%1987: 76.41%1988: 80.14%1989: 80.76%1990: 81.33%1991: 81.84%1992: 82.33%1993: 82.77%1994: 83.3%1995: 83.84%1996: 84.3%1997: 89.27%1998: 89.63%1999: 89.95%2000: 90.31%2001: 90.63%2002: 90.98%2003: 91.35%2004: 91.68%2005: 92.02%2006: 92.37%2007: 93.51%2008: 93.82%2009: 94.09%2010: 94.08%2011: 94.3%2012: 94.54%2013: 94.62%2014: 95.09%2015: 95.3%2016: 95.5%2017: 95.69%2018: 95.73%2019: 95.87%2020: 96.09%2021: 96.22%2022: 96.36%2023: 96.49%2024: 96.61%
Change over the period: +30.62 pp Annual average: 0.64 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: East Asia & Pacific

East Asia & Pacific 96.61%
World 87.74%
Literacy rate — East Asia & Pacific, by year East Asia & Pacific All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 96.61 +0.12 pp
2023 96.49 +0.13 pp
2022 96.36 +0.14 pp
2021 96.22 +0.13 pp
2020 96.09 +0.22 pp
2019 95.87 +0.14 pp
2018 95.73 +0.04 pp
2017 95.69 +0.19 pp
2016 95.5 +0.2 pp
2015 95.3 +0.21 pp
2014 95.09 +0.47 pp
2013 94.62 +0.08 pp
2012 94.54 +0.24 pp
2011 94.3 +0.22 pp
2010 94.08 −0.01 pp
2009 94.09 +0.27 pp
2008 93.82 +0.31 pp
2007 93.51 +1.14 pp
2006 92.37 +0.35 pp
2005 92.02 +0.34 pp
2004 91.68 +0.33 pp
2003 91.35 +0.37 pp
2002 90.98 +0.35 pp
2001 90.63 +0.32 pp
2000 90.31 +0.36 pp
1999 89.95 +0.32 pp
1998 89.63 +0.36 pp
1997 89.27 +4.97 pp
1996 84.3 +0.46 pp
1995 83.84 +0.54 pp
1994 83.3 +0.53 pp
1993 82.77 +0.44 pp
1992 82.33 +0.49 pp
1991 81.84 +0.51 pp
1990 81.33 +0.57 pp
1989 80.76 +0.62 pp
1988 80.14 +3.73 pp
1987 76.41 +1.15 pp
1986 75.26 +0.83 pp
1985 74.43 +0.92 pp
1984 73.51 +0.98 pp
1983 72.53 +0.92 pp
1982 71.61 +0.97 pp
1981 70.64 +1.03 pp
1980 69.61 +1.09 pp
1979 68.52 +1.23 pp
1978 67.29 +1.09 pp
1977 66.2 +0.21 pp
1976 65.99

About the indicator

The share of the population aged 15 and older able to read and write a short simple statement about their everyday life. The UNESCO definition is deliberately minimal — it is the threshold of functional literacy, not an assessment of the quality of education. In most countries the data come from censuses and surveys, so they are updated irregularly.

Important: The series is incomplete: values are published only for the years in which a census or a literacy survey was conducted.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), license CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.