Former British colonies Compared by Education > Literacy > Total population

DEFINITION: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of our source. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons.

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#	COUNTRY	AMOUNT	DATE
1	Barbados	99.7%	2002
=2	New Zealand	99%	2003
=2	Canada	99%	2003
=2	Australia	99%	2003
=2	United States	99%	2003
6	Guyana	98.8%	2003
7	Trinidad and Tobago	98.6%	2003
8	Saint Kitts and Nevis	97.8%	2003
9	Israel	97.1%	2004
10	Grenada	96%	2003
11	The Bahamas	95.6%	2003
12	Belize	94.1%	2003
13	Dominica	94%	2003
14	Maldives	93.8%	2006
15	Fiji	93.7%	2003
16	Kuwait	93.3%	2005
17	Singapore	93.2%	2003
18	Sri Lanka	92.3%	2003
19	Brunei	91.8%	2003
20	Zimbabwe	90.7%	2003
21	Saint Lucia	90.1%	2001
=22	Burma	89.9%	2006
=22	Jordan	89.9%	2003
24	Bahrain	89.1%	2003
25	Qatar	89%	2004
26	Malaysia	88.9%	2003
27	Jamaica	87.9%	2003
28	Antigua and Barbuda	85.8%	2003
29	Kenya	85.1%	2003
30	Lesotho	84.8%	2003
31	Namibia	84%	2003
32	Swaziland	81.6%	2003
33	Botswana	81.2%	2003
34	Zambia	80.6%	2003
35	Tanzania	78.2%	2003
36	United Arab Emirates	77.9%	2003
37	Ghana	74.8%	2003
38	Egypt	71.4%	2005
39	Uganda	69.9%	2003
40	Nigeria	68%	2003
41	Malawi	62.7%	2003
42	Sudan	61.1%	2003
43	India	59.5%	2003
44	Yemen	50.2%	2003
45	Pakistan	49.9%	2005
46	Bhutan	47%	2003
47	Bangladesh	43.1%	2003
48	The Gambia	40.1%	2003
49	Somalia	37.8%	2001
50	Sierra Leone	35.1%	2004

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