Brazil’s Illiteracy Rate Falls Below 5% to 4.9%

Overview

• The IBGE’s PNAD Educação 2025, released June 19, 2026, shows the national illiteracy rate fell to 4.9%, the lowest since the series began in 2016, equal to about 8.4 million people.
• Illiteracy is heavily concentrated in older adults, with people aged 60 or more making up roughly 58% of the illiterate population and showing a 13.8% rate in that age group.
• Regional and state disparities remain large, with the Northeast accounting for about 57% of all illiterates and states such as Alagoas and Piauí reporting the highest rates.
• Education attainment rose for adults—57.4% of those 25+ had at least a high school diploma and 21.4% had higher education—but some targets were missed and key attendance measures have not fully returned to pre‑pandemic levels, including adjusted net attendance for ages 6–14 at 96.1% versus 97.1% in 2019 and creche coverage for 0–3 years below PNE goals.
• The data point to persistent drivers of dropout and exclusion—work, pregnancy and lack of interest among youth—and signal a need for targeted adult and elder literacy programs, expanded early childhood places and sustained public investment to close racial and regional gaps.