<p>Some 774 million adults worldwide (age 15 and over) can&#39;t read, according to the <a href="http://www.campaignforeducation.org/bigread/en/" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" data-ordinal="1" rel="nofollow">Global Campaign for Education</a>. Here&#39;s how the Middle East countries&#39; illiteracy rates rank.</p><p><b>Middle East Illiteracy Rates</b></p><table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" border="1" align="center" width="380"><tbody><tr><td><b>Rank</b></td><td><b>Country</b></td><td><b>Illiteracy rate (%)</b></td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/afghanistan-facts-and-history-195107" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="2">Afghanistan</a></td><td>72</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/pakistans-isi-or-inter-services-intelligence-2353442" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="3">Pakistan</a></td><td>50</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/brief-history-of-mauritania-44316" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="4">Mauritania</a></td><td>49</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-of-morocco-1435230" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="5">Morocco</a></td><td>48</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Yemen</td><td>46</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Sudan</td><td>39</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Djibouti</td><td>32</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Algeria</td><td>30</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/is-iraq-a-democracy-2353046" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="6">Iraq</a></td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Tunisia</td><td>25.7</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>Egypt</td><td>28</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Comoros</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/current-situation-in-syria-2353567" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="7">Syria</a></td><td>19</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Oman</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>Iran</td><td>17.6</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>Saudi Arabia</td><td>17.1</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/current-situation-in-israel-2353137" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="8">Libya</a></td><td>16</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>Bahrain</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/is-turkey-a-democracy-2353635" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="9">Turkey</a></td><td>12.6</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Lebanon</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>U.A.E.</td><td>11.3</td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>Qatar</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>23</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/jordan-country-profile-2353170" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="10">Jordan</a></td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td>Palestine</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>25</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-of-kuwait-1435081" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="11">Kuwait</a></td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>26</td><td>Cyprus</td><td>3.2</td></tr><tr><td>27</td><td><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/current-situation-in-israel-2353137" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="12">Israel</a></td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>28</td><td>Azerbaijan</td><td>1.2</td></tr><tr><td>29</td><td>Armenia</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td align="right" colspan="3"><i>Sources: United Nations, 2009 World Almanac, The Economist </i></td></tr></tbody></table>