Students attend a class at a school on International Literacy Day in Lahore. PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan remains the lowest-ranking South Asian country for literacy, with 63% of people aged 10 and above able to read and write, according to a new study by the Free and Fair Elections Network (FAFEN).
The review is based on official data from the Pakistan Household Integrated Economic Survey and Measurement of Living and Social Standards (PSLM-HEIS) 2024-2025 and compares Pakistan’s performance with World Bank literacy figures for the region.
It shows that literacy has increased from 60% in 2018-2019 to 63% in 2024-2025, an increase of three percentage points in about six years. Analysts described the pace of improvement as “alarmingly slow” for a country of more than 240 million people.
Regionally, the study places the Maldives at 98% adult literacy, followed by Sri Lanka at 93%, India at 87% and Bangladesh at 79%. Nepal is at 68% and Bhutan at 65%, while the South Asian average is 78%, 15 percentage points higher than Pakistan.
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The data also highlights stark disparities within Pakistan. Male literacy amounts to 73%, compared to 54% for women. Punjab has the highest provincial literacy rate at 68%, while Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have 58%. Balochistan records the lowest rate: 49%.
Literacy among youth, ages 15 to 24, is estimated at 77%, but general literacy among adults ages 15 and older lags behind at 60%, indicating persistent gaps in education and skills among older age groups.
FAFEN noted that the survey defines a “literate” person as someone aged 10 or older who can read and understand a simple statement and write a simple sentence.
The organization also pointed to Article 25A of the Constitution of Pakistan, which guarantees free and compulsory education for children from five to 16 years of age. He said that education became a provincial issue after the 18th Amendment, while Pakistan is also committed to the educational goals of the United Nations under the Sustainable Development Goals.
