Gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban was 1.21 % in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
1.21 %
Change on year
down 26.2%
World rank
24th
of 45 countries
All-time high
2.79 %
in 2008
All-time low
0.7 %
in 2001
Years of data
12
2001–2023

Gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban in Sri Lanka, 2001–2023

0.511.522.532001201220232001: 0.7 %2006: 1.4 %2008: 2.8 %2010: 1.6 %2016: 2 %2017: 1.5 %2018: 1.8 %2019: 1.1 %2020: 1.9 %2021: 2.1 %2022: 1.6 %2023: 1.2 %

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.

Analysis

Sri Lanka recorded 1.21 % for gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban in 2023.

The figure is down 26.2% on the previous year and down 25.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.79 % in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.7 %, in 2001.

That places Sri Lanka 24th out of 45 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.

Gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban in Sri Lanka, year by year

Annual values for Gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban — Value — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — Urban in Sri Lanka, 2001 to 2023.
Year % Change
2001 0.7 %
2006 1.38 % +97.1%
2008 2.79 % +102.2%
2010 1.62 % -41.9%
2016 1.98 % +22.2%
2017 1.53 % -22.7%
2018 1.75 % +14.4%
2019 1.1 % -37.1%
2020 1.93 % +75.5%
2021 2.08 % +7.8%
2022 1.64 % -21.2%
2023 1.21 % -26.2%

Sri Lanka compared with similar countries

  • Sri Lanka's 1.21 % is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.38 %, 3.2× the median. (21 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.62 % 0.7 % 2.79 % 3
2010s 1.6 % 1.1 % 1.98 % 5
2020s 1.71 % 1.21 % 2.08 % 4

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 21 Indonesia 1.88 % compare
  2. 22 Malaysia 1.79 % compare
  3. 23 Kuwait 1.7 % compare
  4. 25 Mexico 1.16 % compare
  5. 26 Paraguay 0.8 % compare
  6. 27 Spain 0.79 % compare

See the full ranking of 48 places →

More economy & growth data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban in Sri Lanka?
Gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban in Sri Lanka was 1.21 % in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 2.79 % in 2008.
What is the lowest gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 0.7 % in 2001.
How does Sri Lanka rank for gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban?
Sri Lanka ranks 24th out of 45 countries with data for 2023.
Is gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is down 25.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban — Value — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — Urban. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban in Sri Lanka. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/gender-gap-in-adult-literacy-rate-population-15-years-urban-value-all-age-ranges-or-no/sri-lanka/

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About this data

Indicator
Gender gap in adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, urban — Value — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — Urban
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
48 places, 460 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

The Suite of Gender Indicators presents a set of indicators relevant to agrifood systems that are disaggregated by sex, with the aim of highlighting gender differences across agrifood systems. The initial set of indicators is based on those used in FAO’s 2023 Status of Women in Agrifood Systems (SWAFS) report and on the recommendations of an expert consultation held in December 2023, and covers key dimensions including economic participation, governance, agency, social norms, assets and services, education, health, and nutrition. Indicator selection was informed by expert judgment and by the availability of data with sufficient geographic and temporal coverage to enable meaningful comparisons across regions and over time. While most indicators are produced and published by FAO and other international organizations, the objective of this domain is to provide a one-stop shop for sex-disaggregated data on agrifood systems.