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2007/2008 Human Development Report

03Human and income poverty: developing countries
Adult illiteracy rate (% aged 15 and older) Excel Export results to Excel

HDI Rank Country 1995-2005 1
1 Iceland 1.0 2
2 Norway 1.0 2
3 Australia 1.0 2
4 Canada 1.0 2
5 Ireland 1.0 2
6 Sweden 1.0 2
7 Switzerland 1.0 2
8 Japan 1.0 2
9 Netherlands 1.0 2
10 France 1.0 2
11 Finland 1.0 2
12 United States 1.0 2
13 Spain 1.0 2
14 Denmark 1.0 2
15 Austria 1.0 2
16 United Kingdom 1.0 2
17 Belgium 1.0 2
18 Luxembourg 1.0 2
19 New Zealand 1.0 2
20 Italy 1.6 2
21 Hong Kong, China (SAR) ..
22 Germany 1.0 2
23 Israel 2.9
24 Greece 4.0 2
25 Singapore 7.5
26 Korea (Republic of) 1.0
27 Slovenia 1.0 2
28 Cyprus 3.2
29 Portugal 6.2 2
30 Brunei Darussalam 7.3
31 Barbados .. 3
32 Czech Republic 1.0 2
33 Kuwait 6.7
34 Malta 12.1
35 Qatar 11.0
36 Hungary 1.0 2
37 Poland 1.0 2
38 Argentina 2.8
39 United Arab Emirates 11.3 4
40 Chile 4.3
41 Bahrain 13.5
42 Slovakia 1.0 2
43 Lithuania 1.0 2
44 Estonia 0.2 2
45 Latvia 1.0 2
46 Uruguay 3.2
47 Croatia 1.9 2
48 Costa Rica 5.1
49 Bahamas ..
50 Seychelles 8.2
51 Cuba .. 5
52 Mexico 8.4
53 Bulgaria 1.8 2
54 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2.2 6
55 Tonga 1.1
56 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 15.8 4
57 Antigua and Barbuda 14.2 7
58 Oman 18.6
59 Trinidad and Tobago 1.6 4
60 Romania 2.7 2
61 Saudi Arabia 17.1
62 Panama 8.1
63 Malaysia 11.3
64 Belarus 1.0 2
65 Mauritius 15.7
66 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.3 2
67 Russian Federation 1.0 2
68 Albania 1.3 2
69 Macedonia (TFYR) 3.9 2
70 Brazil 11.4
71 Dominica 12.0 7
72 Saint Lucia 5.2 7
73 Kazakhstan 1.0 2
74 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 7.0
75 Colombia 7.2
76 Ukraine 1.0 2
77 Samoa 1.4 4
78 Thailand 7.4
79 Dominican Republic 13.0
80 Belize 24.9 7
81 China 9.1
82 Grenada 4.0 7
83 Armenia 1.0 2
84 Turkey 12.6
85 Suriname 10.4
86 Jordan 8.9
87 Peru 12.1
88 Lebanon .. 3
89 Ecuador 9.0
90 Philippines 7.4
91 Tunisia 25.7
92 Fiji .. 3
93 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 11.9 7
94 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 17.6
95 Paraguay 6.5 4
96 Georgia 1.0 2
97 Guyana .. 3
98 Azerbaijan 1.2 2
99 Sri Lanka 9.3 8
100 Maldives 3.7
101 Jamaica 20.1
102 Cape Verde 18.8 4
103 El Salvador 19.4 4
104 Algeria 30.1
105 Viet Nam 9.7
106 Occupied Palestinian Territories 7.6
107 Indonesia 9.6
108 Syrian Arab Republic 19.2
109 Turkmenistan 1.2 2
110 Nicaragua 23.3
111 Moldova 1.0 2
112 Egypt 28.6
113 Uzbekistan 1.0 2
114 Mongolia 2.2
115 Honduras 20.0
116 Kyrgyzstan 1.3 2
117 Bolivia 13.3
118 Guatemala 30.9
119 Gabon 16.0 4
120 Vanuatu 26.0
121 South Africa 17.6
122 Tajikistan 1.0 2
123 Sao Tome and Principe 15.1
124 Botswana 18.8
125 Namibia 15.0
126 Morocco 47.7
127 Equatorial Guinea 13.0
128 India 39.0 8
129 Solomon Islands 23.4 6
130 Lao People's Democratic Republic 31.3
131 Cambodia 26.4
132 Myanmar 10.1
133 Bhutan 53.0 9
134 Comoros .. 3
135 Ghana 42.1
136 Pakistan 50.1
137 Mauritania 48.8
138 Lesotho 17.8
139 Congo 15.3 4
140 Bangladesh 52.5
141 Swaziland 20.4
142 Nepal 51.4
143 Madagascar 29.3
144 Cameroon 32.1
145 Papua New Guinea 42.7
146 Haiti .. 3
147 Sudan 39.1 8
148 Kenya 26.4
149 Djibouti .. 3
150 Timor-Leste 49.9 10
151 Zimbabwe 10.6 4
152 Togo 46.8
153 Yemen 45.9 4
154 Uganda 33.2
155 Gambia .. 3
156 Senegal 60.7
157 Eritrea .. 3
158 Nigeria 30.9 4
159 Tanzania (United Republic of) 30.6
160 Guinea 70.5
161 Rwanda 35.1
162 Angola 32.6
163 Benin 65.3
164 Malawi 35.9
165 Zambia 32.0
166 Côte d'Ivoire 51.3
167 Burundi 40.7
168 Congo (Democratic Republic of the) 32.8
169 Ethiopia 64.1
170 Chad 74.3
171 Central African Republic 51.4
172 Mozambique 61.3
173 Mali 76.0
174 Niger 71.3
175 Guinea-Bissau .. 3
176 Burkina Faso 76.4
177 Sierra Leone 65.2

Notes :
† Denotes indicators used to calculate the human poverty index (HPI-1). For further details, see Technical note 1.
1 - Data refer to national illiteracy estimates from censuses or surveys conducted between 1995 and 2005, unless otherwise specified. Due to differences in methodology and timeliness of underlying data, comparisons across countries and over time should be made with caution. For more details, see http://www.uis.unesco.org/.
2 -
3 - In the absence of recent data, estimates from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Institute for Statistics. 2003. Correspondence on adult and youth literacy rates. March. Montreal based on outdated census or survey information, were used and should be interpreted with caution: Barbados 0.3, Comoros 43.2, Djibouti 29.7, Eritrea 39.5, Fiji 5.6, Gambia 57.5, Guinea-Bissau 55.2, Guyana 1.0, Haiti 45.2, and Lebanon 11.7.
4 - UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimates based on its Global Age-specific Literacy Projections model, April 2007.
5 - An adult illiteracy rate of 0.2 was used to calculate the HPI-1 for Cuba.
6 - Data are from national sources.
7 - Data are from the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community, based on national sources.
8 - Data refer to a year or period other than that specified, differ from the standard definition or refer to only part of a country.
9 - UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). 2004. State of the World’s Children 2005. New York.
10 - UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2006. The Path out of Poverty. National Human Development Report for Timor-Leste. Dili.

Sources :
calculated on the basis of data on adult literacy rates from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Institute for Statistics. 2007a. Correspondence on adult and youth literacy rates. May. Montreal.
Symbols :
.. Data not available
(.) Greater (or less) than zero but small enough to be rounded off to zero at the displayed number of decimal points
< Less than
- Not applicable
T Total