Indian literacy rate has shown steady increase over
the last several years.
Literacy Rate in India
Literacy is a reasonably good indicator of development in a society.
Spread and diffusion of literacy is generally associated with essential
trait of today's civilization such as modernization, urbanization,
industrialization, communication and commerce.
For the purpose of census, a person aged seven and above, who can both
read and write with any understanding in any language, is treated as
literate.
As per 2001 Census, the overall literacy rate of India is 65.38%. The
male literacy rate is 75.96% and female literacy rate is 54.28%.
Ranking of States and Union Territories by Literacy Rate
| State / U.T. |
Literacy Rate |
Male Literacy Rate |
Female Literacy Rate |
| Kerala |
90.92 |
94.20 |
87.86 |
| Mizoram |
88.49 |
90.69 |
86.13 |
| Lakshadweep (U.T.) |
87.52 |
93.15 |
81.56 |
| Goa |
82.32 |
88.88 |
75.51 |
| Delhi (U.T.) |
81.82 |
87.37 |
75.00 |
| Chandigarh (U.T.) |
81.76 |
85.65 |
76.65 |
| Pondicherry (U. T.) |
81.49 |
88.89 |
74.13 |
| Andaman & Nicobar (U.T.) |
81.18 |
86.07 |
75.29 |
| Daman & Diu (U.T.) |
81.09 |
88.40 |
70.37 |
| Maharashtra |
77.27 |
86.27 |
67.51 |
| Himachal Pradesh |
77.13 |
86.02 |
68.08 |
| Tripura |
73.66 |
81.47 |
65.41 |
| Tamil Nadu |
73.47 |
82.33 |
64.55 |
| Uttaranchal |
72.28 |
84.01 |
60.26 |
| Gujarat |
69.97 |
80.50 |
58.60 |
| Punjab |
69.95 |
75.63 |
63.55 |
| Sikkim |
69.68 |
76.73 |
61.46 |
| West Bengal |
69.22 |
77.58 |
60.22 |
| Manipur |
68.87 |
77.87 |
59.70 |
| Haryana |
68.59 |
79.25 |
56.31 |
| Nagaland |
67.11 |
71.77 |
61.92 |
| Karnataka |
67.04 |
76.29 |
57.45 |
| Chhatisgarh |
65.18 |
77.86 |
52.40 |
| Assam |
64.28 |
71.93 |
56.03 |
| Madhya Pradesh |
64.11 |
76.80 |
50.28 |
| Orissa |
63.61 |
75.95 |
50.97 |
| Meghalaya |
63.31 |
66.14 |
60.41 |
| Andhra Pradesh |
61.11 |
70.85 |
51.17 |
| Rajasthan |
61.03 |
76.46 |
44.34 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli (U.T.) |
60.03 |
73.32 |
42.99 |
| Uttar Pradesh |
57.36 |
70.23 |
42.98 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |
54.74 |
64.07 |
44.24 |
| Jammu & Kashmir |
54.46 |
65.75 |
41.82 |
| Jharkhand |
54.13 |
67.94 |
39.38 |
| Bihar |
47.53 |
60.32 |
33.57 |
