Dataset · UIS
Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary
Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, 2023 compilation · 122 countries · 3 measures
This is the share of pupils at the end of primary school who reach at least a minimum level in reading — SDG indicator 4.1.1, the measure the world’s education goal is scored on. It asks not whether children are in school, but whether school has taught them to read.
This site holds one edition, Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, 2023 compilation, read from UIS’s own data and stored exactly as published.
Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary · the file
- Newest
- Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, 2023 compilation
- Held
- 1 edition · 122 rows
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0
01One edition
Every edition
Newest first. Each opens the full table for that edition, and each downloads as a CSV.
| Edition | Countries | Change | Read | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, 2023 compilation | 122 | — | September 29, 2026 | CSV |
Every edition in one file, one row per country per edition: reading-proficiency-primary-all-editions-nations-inquiry.csv
027 columns
What’s in the file
Every column, what it holds, how it is stored and what its values look like — what a reader needs before opening the file.
| Column | What it holds | Stored as | Range, 2023 | Distinct | Empty | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CountrycountryName | The country’s name, as this file spells it. | Text | — | 122 | 0 | |
ISO Codecountry_codeIdentifier | The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code, added by this site. Every table here joins on it. | Text · 3 letters | — | 122 | 0 | |
Pupils at the end of primary reaching minimum proficiency in reading (%)reading_proficiency_primaryHeadline | The headline figure: Pupils at the end of primary reaching minimum proficiency in reading (%). | Number · up to 14 decimals | 2.0000 | 121 | 0 | |
FemalefemaleWomen | The same measure, for women. | Number · up to 15 decimals | 3.00 | 110 | 12 | |
MalemaleMen | The same measure, for men. | Number · up to 15 decimals | 2.00 | 109 | 12 | |
Reference yearreference_yearReading year | The year this country’s reading describes. Readings from different years sit side by side. | Year | — | 9 | 0 | |
Assessment (UIS footnote)data_sourceLabel | UIS’s own footnote naming the learning assessment this reading comes from — its benchmark, the school grade tested, and any part of the country it is limited to. Readings from different assessments are not directly comparable. | Text | — | 17 | 0 |
Profiled from the newest file. Range: the lowest and highest value, with the country holding it when only one does. Spread: countries in ten equal steps from lowest to highest. A higher value is the better result.
03122 countries across every edition
Who is covered
How many countries each edition holds, continent by continent, who joined and who left, and which places this site covers that the dataset never has.
| 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Africa | 31 |
| Americas | 22 |
| Asia | 27 |
| Europe | 30 |
| Oceania | 12 |
| All | 122 |
One edition, covering 122 countries.
Not in this dataset · 103 places this site covers
UIS gives no figure for these in any edition held here. It is the publisher’s choice of scope, and each place’s profile shows what is measured.
04Provenance
Where it comes from
The path from the publisher to this page, and what was checked and changed on the way.
1 · Publisher
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
2 · Their file
Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary — UIS (readings to 2023)
3 · Read by this site
September 29, 2026
Imported by a script that parses each figure and writes it down unrounded.4 · Stored as
1 file, one per edition
It downloads as a CSV: reading-proficiency-primary-all-editions-nations-inquiry.csv5 · Used on
Its statistic page, and every profile it measures
Precision
The headline is stored to 14 decimals, as published.
Rounded by this site
Never. Tables on screen may show fewer decimals; the files never do.
Changed by this site
Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.
From the UNESCO Institute for Statistics data API (READ.PRIMARY), latest available reading per country, with UIS’s own footnote naming the assessment. Female and male shares are stored beside the headline.
05Reuse
Licence and credit
What the publisher’s licence lets you do, what it asks of you, and a credit line and citation ready to copy.
Licence · checked September 29, 2026
- Share and redistribute it
- Adapt it and build on it
- Use it commercially
- Credit the publisher
- Say what you changed
- Publish anything adapted from it under the same licence
Share, adapt and use commercially with credit — and anything you publish that adapts it must carry the same licence.
A credit line
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, via Nations Inquiry.
Cite this dataset
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, 2023 compilation [data set]. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/reading-proficiency-primary
The publisher’s own citation: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. UIS Data Browser. Montreal: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Plain-language summary, not legal advice. The licence text is what binds.
06Where it is used
Around the site
Where these numbers appear on this site, and the datasets nearest to it.
Charted
Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary by countryWho is highest, the map, the spread, who rose and fell, and the records.
Subjects
Near neighbours
- Government Spending on EducationUIS · 51 held · 1971–2023
- Upper Secondary Completion RateUIS · 45 held · 1981–2025
- Out-of-School Rate, PrimaryUIS · 32 held · 1981–2024
07Questions
Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary: questions and answers
What is the Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary?
This is the share of pupils at the end of primary school who reach at least a minimum level in reading — SDG indicator 4.1.1, the measure the world’s education goal is scored on. It asks not whether children are in school, but whether school has taught them to read.
Which editions of the Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary can I download?
One: Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, 2023 compilation, as a CSV file.
Does UIS rank countries on it?
No, and this site does not order it either. The files hold values only.
Can I use it commercially?
Yes, under CC BY-SA 4.0, with credit to UIS. The licence text is linked on this page.