Literacy in India is a key for socio-economic progress.Ms. Sneha Bhati, Prof. J.P. Dubey. “Media Literacy among Students in India.” Journal of Positive School Psychology, 2022, journalppw.com/index.php/jpsp/article/view/13640. The 2011 census, indicated a 2001–2011 literacy growth of 9.2%, which was slower than the growth seen during the previous decade. At the then-current rate of progress in 1990, one study projected that universal literacy might be reached by 2060.Daulat, Sohail R., et al. “Evaluation of Educational Material for Low-Literacy Populations in India.” Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 14 Sept. 2023, jces.ua.edu/articles/10.54656/jces.v16i1.482. The Census of India reported an average literacy rate of 73% in 2011, while the National Statistical Commission estimated it at 80.6% in 2017–18. Meanwhile, the National Sample Survey Office in its 2023–2024 annual PLFS report stated the total literacy rate of India to be 80.9%. Literacy rate in urban areas was 90%, higher than rural areas with 77%. There is a wide gender disparity in the literacy rate in India and effective literacy rates (age 7 and above) was 88% for men and 81% for women. Lower female literacy rates are associated with challenges in family planning and population stabilization in India. Studies have indicated that female literacy is a strong predictor of the use of contraception among married Indian couples, even when women do not otherwise have economic independence. The census provided a positive indication that growth in female literacy rates (11.8%) was substantially faster than in male literacy rates (6.9%) in the 2001–2011 decadal period, which means the gender gap appears to be narrowing.
Literacy involves a continuum of learning enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society."Ilyer, Radha. “Literacies in India | Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.” Literacies in India, 2024, oxfordre.com/education/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-1605.
The National Literacy Mission defines literacy as the ability to read, write, and perform basic arithmetic, and to then apply these skills to everyday life. Practicing literacy goes beyond the basic skills, causing people to improve their living situation, make more informed decisions, and participate in society. This can be achieved through acquiring skills to improve economic status and the general wellbeing, developing awareness for the causes of deprivation, and establishing values that expand on these ideas.
Census dataset Literacy rate for 1951, 1961 and 1971 relate to population aged five years and above. The rate for the years 1981 and 1991 relate to the population aged seven years and above. The working definition of literacy in the Indian census since 1991 is as follows:
Literacy rate
Literacy rates by decade Year Male % Female % Combined %1872 ~3.251881 8.1 0.35 4.321891 8.44 0.42 4.621901 9.8 0.6 5.41911 10.6 1.0 5.91921 12.2 1.8 7.21931 15.6 2.9 9.51941 24.9 7.3 16.11951 27.16 8.86 18.331961 40.4 15.35 28.31971 45.96 21.97 34.451981 56.38 29.76 43.571991 64.13 39.29 52.212001 75.26 53.67 64.832011 82.14 65.46 74.04
Other Datasets +Top Performing States in 2018Kalukurthi, Suhitha. “An Analyzed Report on Indian Literacy Rate Growth.” International Journal of Adult and Non Formal Education, Global Science Research Journals, 10 Mar. 2022, www.globalscienceresearchjournals.org/articles/an-analyzed-report-on-indian-literacy-rate-growth-87786.html. NoStateLiteracy Rate in Percentage1Kerala93.91%2Delhi88.7%3Uttarakhand87.6%4Himachal Pradesh86.6%5Assam85.9%6Maharashtra84.8%7Punjab83.7%8Tamil Nadu82.9%9Gujarat82.4%10West Bengal80.2% Source: The report on 'Household Social Consumption: Education in India as part of 75th round of National Sample Survey – from July 2017 to June 2018. Other than Assam, no other state from the Northeast was included in the survey.
Regional literacy comparison
The table below shows the adult and youth literacy rates for India and some neighboring countries as complied by UNESCO in 2015. Adult literacy rate is based on the 15+ years age group, while the youth literacy rate is for the 15–24 years age group (i.e. youth is a subset of adults).
Comparative literacy statistics by neighboring country (2015) Country Adult literacy rate Youth literacy rateages 15–24 China 96.4% 99.7% Sri Lanka 92.6% 98.8% Myanmar 93.7% 96.3% World average 86.3% 91.2% India 74.5% 92% Nepal 64.7% 86.9% Bangladesh 61.5% 83.2% Pakistan 58% 80.3%
Literacy rate disparity One of the main factors contributing to this relatively low literacy rate is perceived usefulness of education and lack of nearby schools in rural areas. There was a shortage of classrooms to accommodate all the students in 2006–2007.Passi, Reetu, et al. “Health Literacy Strengths and Challenges among Residents of a Resource-Poor Village in Rural India: Epidemiological and Cluster Analyses.” PLOS Global Public Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 17 Feb. 2023, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10022012/. In addition, there is no proper sanitation in most schools. The study of 188 government-run primary schools in central and northern India revealed that 59% of the schools had no drinking water facility and 89% no toilets. In 600,000 villages and rapidly expanding urban slums, 'free and compulsory education' is the basic literacy instruction dispensed by minimally trained 'para teachers'. The average pupil teacher ratio for all India is 42:1, implying a teacher shortage. These factors contribute to regional disparities in literacy outcomes. Furthermore, the expenditure allocated to education was never above 4.3% of the GDP from 1951 to 2002 despite the target of 6% by the Kothari Commission. This further complicates the literacy problem in India.
Severe caste disparities also exist in literacy outcomes across India, directly affecting marginalized groups such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. These specific communities face systemic barriers such as economic disadvantages, limited access to quality education, and social discrimination. In rural areas where these populations are concentrated, the schools have limited access to technology and materials or may be poorly equipped, discouraging regular attendance. Discrimination against lower castes has resulted in high dropout rates and low enrollment rates. The National Sample Survey Organisation and the National Family Health Survey collected data in India on the percentage of children completing primary school which are reported to be only 36.8% and 37.7% respectively. On February 21, 2005, the Prime Minister of India said that he was pained to note that "only 47 out of 100 children enrolled in class I reach class VIII, putting the dropout rate at 52.78 percent." It is estimated that at least 35 million, and possibly as many as 60 million, children aged 6–14 years are not in school.
The large proportion of illiterate females is another reason for the low literacy rate in India. Inequality based on gender differences resulted in female literacy rates being lower at 65.46% than that of their male counterparts at 82.14%. Due to strong stereotyping of female and male roles, sons are thought of to be more useful and hence are educated. Females are pulled to help out on agricultural farms at home as they are increasingly replacing the males on such activities which require no formal education. Fewer than 2% of girls who engaged in agriculture work attended school.
History and progress Pre-colonial period
Prior to the colonial era, education in India typically occurred under the supervision of a guru in traditional schools called gurukulas. The gurukulas were supported by public donations and were one of the earliest forms of public school offices.
According to the historian Dharampal, based on his analysis of British documents from the early 1800s, pre-colonial education in India was widespread and fairly accessible: While attendance was much lower for girls than boys, children of all castes (including Shudra and "other castes") and social strata attended the formal, out-of-home education. Dharampal notes that senior British officials, such as Thomas Munrowho reported that the Hindu temple or mosque of each village had a school attached to it and the children of all communities attended these schoolssurveyed the number and types of indigenous Indian educational institutions still operating in the early nineteenth century, numbers and status of students attending, and the instruction given. In 1821, one such official, G. L. Prendergast of the Bombay Presidency Governor's Council, stated: William Adam, missionary and later journalist, reported in 1830, that there were around one hundred thousand schools in Bengal and Bihar.
British period In the colonial era, the community-funded gurukul system and temple-based charity education, began to decline as the centrally funded institutions promoted by the British colonial administration began to gradually take over.
From 1881 and 1947, the number of English-language primary schools grew from 82,916 to 134,866 and the number of students attending those institutions grew from 2,061,541 to 10,525,943. Literacy rates among the Indian public, as recorded rose from an estimated 3.2 per cent in 1872, to 16.1 per cent in 1941.
In 1944, the British colonial administration presented a plan, called the Sargent Scheme for the educational reconstruction of India, with a goal of producing 100% literacy in the country within 40 years, i.e. by 1984. Although the 40-year time-frame was derided at the time by leaders of the Indian independence movement as being too long a period to achieve universal literacy, India had only just crossed the 74% level by the 2011 census. The British Indian censuses identify a significant difference in literacy rates, by: sex, religion, caste and state of residence, an example of which may be seen in the table below.Hunter, (Sir) William Wilson, et al. (1908). Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908–1931; Clarendon Press, Oxford
1901 census – literacy rate Location Male % Female %Madras 11.9 1.1Bombay 11.6 0.9Bengal 10.4 0.5Berar 8.5 0.3Assam 6.7 0.4Punjab 6.4 0.3United Provinces 5.7 0.2Central Provinces 5.4 0.2
Post-independence
The provision of universal and compulsory education for all children in the age group of 6–14 was a cherished national ideal and had been given overriding priority by incorporation as a Directive Policy in Article 45 of the Constitution, but it is still to be achieved more than half a century since the Constitution was adopted in 1949. Parliament has passed the Constitution 86th Amendment Act, 2002, to make elementary education a Fundamental Right for children in the age group of 6–14 years. In order to provide more funds for education, an education cess of 2 percent has been imposed on all direct and indirect central taxes through the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2004.
In 2000–01, there were 60,840 pre-primary and pre-basic schools, and 664,041 primary and junior basic schools. Total enrolment at the primary level has increased from 19,200,000 in 1950–51 to 109,800,000 in 2001–02. The number of high schools in 2000–01 was higher than the number of primary schools at the time of independence.
The literacy rate grew from 18.33 percent in 1951, to 74.04 percent in 2011. During the same period, the population grew from 361 million to 1,210 million.
Literacy rates (age 7+) by decade Year Male % Female % Combined %1951 27.16 8.86 18.331961 40.4 15.35 28.31971 45.96 21.97 34.451981 56.38 29.76 43.571991 64.13 39.29 52.212001 75.26 53.67 64.832011 82.14 65.46 74.04 Growth and variation