See what a high band reads like.

P1The bar chart illustrates the proportion of adults aged 15 and over who were literate in five countries around 2020.

P2Overall, literacy rates varied considerably across the five nations, with Russia and China recording near-universal literacy while Nigeria had by far the lowest rate. A clear divide is visible between the two highest-performing countries and the remaining three.

P3Russia recorded the highest literacy rate at 99.7%, followed closely by China at 97.2%. Brazil sat in the middle of the range at 93.2%, indicating that roughly one in fourteen adults lacked basic literacy skills. India and Nigeria had considerably lower figures, at 74.4% and 62% respectively, meaning that more than a quarter of Indian adults and over a third of Nigerian adults were unable to read or write.

P4The gap between the top and bottom of the chart was substantial: Nigeria's literacy rate was nearly 38 percentage points below that of Russia. Furthermore, Nigeria's figure was around 11 percentage points lower than India's, suggesting that sub-Saharan Africa faced particular challenges in this area. Brazil, while more literate than the two South Asian and African nations, still trailed the European and East Asian leaders by a notable margin.