How literate is India?
Adult literacy rate.
Source: World Bank Indicators API · indicator SE.ADT.LITR.ZS Fetched 3/6/2026
At a glance
78.2%
latest value, 2024
40.8%
first value, 1981
14
annual observations in this artifact
annual
source frequency
The explanation Draft prose wraps locked source numbers; no numbers are generated at request time
Literacy is a basic capability measure, but it is only the floor of education quality.
Literacy is a basic capability measure, but it is only the floor of education quality.
Adult literacy rate.
Read this as one piece of evidence, not the whole story. The useful question is what changes over time, what stays stuck, and what the indicator leaves out.
Keep pulling the thread
How urban is India? -> How many Indians are in the labour force? -> How many Indian women are in the labour force? ->Methodology
MeasureAdult literacy rate
GeographyIndia
Unit% ages 15 and above
TransformValues displayed as percent of people aged 15+.
CaveatLiteracy does not measure learning quality or years of schooling.