Adult Illiteracy Rates (15 Years & Over) in the Middle East

by Pierre Tristam
Pierre Tristam is an award-winning writer who covers Middle East, foreign affairs, immigration, and civil liberties. He has been writing for more than 20 years.
Updated May 25, 2019

Some 774 million adults worldwide (age 15 and over) can't read, according to the Global Campaign for Education. Here's how the Middle East countries' illiteracy rates rank.

Middle East Illiteracy Rates

Rank Country Illiteracy rate (%)
1 Afghanistan 72
2 Pakistan 50
3 Mauritania 49
4 Morocco 48
5 Yemen 46
6 Sudan 39
7 Djibouti 32
8 Algeria 30
9 Iraq 26
10 Tunisia 25.7
11 Egypt 28
12 Comoros 25
13 Syria 19
14 Oman 18
15 Iran 17.6
16 Saudi Arabia 17.1
17 Libya 16
18 Bahrain 13
19 Turkey 12.6
20 Lebanon 12
21 U.A.E. 11.3
22 Qatar 11
23 Jordan 9
24 Palestine 8
25 Kuwait 7
26 Cyprus 3.2
27 Israel 3
28 Azerbaijan 1.2
29 Armenia 1
Sources: United Nations, 2009 World Almanac, The Economist