Illiteracy among Jordanians stood at 4.5 per cent in 2025, against 11 per cent in 2000, according to Department of Statistics figures released to mark International Literacy Day.
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The department drew the estimate from its 2025 Labour Force Survey, which it said showed continued improvement across both sexes. The release did not break the rate down by gender.
Age remains the sharpest dividing line. Among Jordanians aged 15 to 24, illiteracy stood at 0.7 per cent, close to elimination in that cohort and, the department said, evidence that education policy has reached the young. Among those aged 65 and over, the rate was 21.7 per cent.
Employment status tracks the same pattern. Illiteracy reached 0.4 per cent among employed Jordanians aged 15 and above and 0.3 per cent among the unemployed, but rose to 6.7 per cent among those outside the labour force altogether.
Ministry of Education data for 2024 put participation in formal and non-formal education and training over the preceding twelve months at 40.5 per cent for those aged 15 and over, with women at 45.5 per cent and men at 35.5 per cent.
Literacy sits within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and UNESCO is supporting Jordan's work toward the 2030 target on adult literacy.
Successive governments, international organisations and local civil society groups have contributed to the effort. International Literacy Day has been observed on September 8 each year since 1967.
Source: Al-Ghad, citing the Department of Statistics and the Ministry of Education.
