Literacy Rate: Chile

Analysis# Chile Literacy Rate Chile's literacy rate reached 96.4% in 2017, reflecting strong educational achievement in Latin America. The country peaked at 96.87% in 2015, just 0.47 percentage points above the current figure. Since 1982, when literacy stood at 91.13%, Chile has improved by 5.8 percentage points—a significant gain that demonstrates sustained educational progress over three and a half decades. The most dramatic improvements occurred between 1982 and 2002, when the rate climbed from 91.13% to 95.72%. Growth has since moderated, with gains between 2002 and 2017 totaling only 0.68 percentage points. The slight decline from the 2015 peak suggests that Chile's literacy rate may be stabilizing near its current level, indicating that further expansion could face diminishing returns as the country approaches near-universal literacy.