Literacy rate, adult female in Philippines

Philippines: Literacy rate, adult female was 97.0% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
97.0%
Change on year
down 1.6%
World rank
17th
of 89 countries
All-time high
98.5%
in 2020
All-time low
82.8%
in 1980
Years of data
12
1980–2022

Literacy rate, adult female in Philippines, 1980–2022

0204060801001980200120221980: 82.8 % of females ages 15 and above1990: 93.2 % of females ages 15 and above1994: 94.5 % of females ages 15 and above2000: 92.7 % of females ages 15 and above2003: 93.6 % of females ages 15 and above2008: 95.8 % of females ages 15 and above2010: 97.2 % of females ages 15 and above2013: 96.8 % of females ages 15 and above2015: 98.2 % of females ages 15 and above2019: 96.8 % of females ages 15 and above2020: 98.5 % of females ages 15 and above2022: 97 % of females ages 15 and above

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of females ages 15 and above.

Analysis

In 2022, literacy rate, adult female in Philippines stood at 97.0%.

That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, literacy rate, adult female in Philippines peaked at 98.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 82.8%, in 1980.

That places Philippines 17th out of 89 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Literacy rate, adult female in Philippines, year by year

Annual values for Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) in Philippines, 1980 to 2022.
Year % of females ages 15 and above Change
1980 82.8%
1990 93.2% +12.6%
1994 94.5% +1.5%
2000 92.7% -2.0%
2003 93.6% +1.0%
2008 95.8% +2.4%
2010 97.2% +1.4%
2013 96.8% -0.4%
2015 98.2% +1.5%
2019 96.8% -1.4%
2020 98.5% +1.7%
2022 97.0% -1.6%

Philippines compared with similar countries

  • Philippines's 97.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 94.8%, 1.0× the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Philippines's 97.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 95.0%, 1.0× the median. (15 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 82.8% 82.8% 82.8% 1
1990s 93.9% 93.2% 94.5% 2
2000s 94.0% 92.7% 95.8% 3
2010s 97.3% 96.8% 98.2% 4
2020s 97.8% 97.0% 98.5% 2

Countries ranked near Philippines

  1. 14 Qatar 97.6% compare
  2. 15 Venezuela 97.2% compare
  3. 16 Albania 97.2% compare
  4. 18 Palestine 96.8% compare
  5. 19 Saudi Arabia 96.7% compare
  6. 20 Lesotho 96.6% compare

See the full ranking of 128 places →

More gender data for Philippines

All data for Philippines →

Frequently asked questions

What is literacy rate, adult female in Philippines?
Literacy rate, adult female in Philippines was 97.0% in 2022, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest literacy rate, adult female recorded in Philippines?
The highest recorded value was 98.5% in 2020.
What is the lowest literacy rate, adult female recorded in Philippines?
The lowest recorded value was 82.8% in 1980.
How does Philippines rank for literacy rate, adult female?
Philippines ranks 17th out of 89 countries with data for 2022.
Is literacy rate, adult female rising or falling in Philippines?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Philippines data come from?
The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Literacy rate, adult female in Philippines. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/literacy-rate-adult-female-percent-of-females-ages-15-and-above/philippines/

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About this data

Indicator
Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above)
Unit
% of females ages 15 and above
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
128 places, 2,600 data points, 1973–2024
Last refreshed

Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.