Seychelles

Caribbean

Mauritius

None

Egypt

Libya

Southwest Asia and North Africa

Burundi

Comoros

Democratic Republic of Congo

Djibouti

Eritrea

eSwatini

Ethiopia

Kenya

Madagascar

Malawi

Rwanda

Sudan

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Sub-Saharan Africa

A map shows COMESA members highlighted in orange: Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, an organization founded in 1994 to promote free trade among its members

Countries

World

COMESA

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Members

Mauritania

Algeria

Bahrain

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Tunisia

United Arab Emirates

Western Sahara

Yemen

Chad

Somalia

A world map shows countries where Arabic is an official or de facto language. The countries are highlighted in dark green and include Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Chad, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Somalia.

Countries where Arabic is an official (or serves as a de facto) language

Arabic as Official or de facto Language

American Samoa (U.S.)

Guam (U.S.)

Marshall Is.

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Samoa

Solomon Is.

Australia & Oceania

Antigua and Barbuda

Aruba (Neth.)

Barbados

Cayman Is. (U.K.)

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Haiti

Jamaica

Martinique (France)

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Trinidad and Tobago

Afghanistan

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Central Asia

China

Macau S.A.R. (China)

Mongolia

Nepal

North Korea

South Korea

East Asia

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Russia

Eurasia

Albania

Belarus

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Estonia

Greece

Hungary

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Malta

Moldova

Montenegro

Northern Macedonia

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Ukraine

Europe

Argentina

Belize

Bolivia

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Guatemala

Guyana

Honduras

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Suriname

Uruguay

Venezuela

Latin America

Guadeloupe (France)

New Caledonia (France)

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Réunion (France)

São Tomé and Príncipe

Tonga

Vanuatu

Mexico

North America

Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Maldives

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

South Asia

Brunei

Cambodia

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Vietnam

Southeast Asia

Iran

Israel

Turkey

Angola

Benin

Botswana

Burkina Faso

Cabo Verde

Cameroon

Central African Republic

Côte d'Ivoire

Equatorial Guinea

Gabon

Gambia

Ghana

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Lesotho

Liberia

Mali

Mozambique

Namibia

Niger

Nigeria

Republic of the Congo

Senegal

Sierra Leone

South Africa

South Sudan

Tanzania

Togo

A world map shows literacy rates. Dark purple (more than 98 percent): Russia, Argentina, Poland, Ukraine, and Mongolia. Purple to light purple (70 to 98 percent): China, Brazil, India. Very light purple (less than 70 percent): Countries in central Africa.

The percentage of the population, age 15 years or older, who has the ability to read, write, and use arithmetic. Some countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia do not report these rates to UNESCO.

World Bank

Literacy Rate

Percent

A map highlighting adult female literacy rates by country. Dark blue indicates more than 97 percent such as in Russia and Argentina. Medium blue such as Brazil. Light blue such as Libya. Very light blue such as several African countries and India.

The percentage of women ages 15 and older who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life

Adult Female Literacy Rate

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Members	Arabic as Official or de facto Language	Literacy Rate			Adult Female Literacy Rate
Value	Value	Class	Rank	Percent	Class	Rank	Percent