India's literacy rate for people aged seven years and above has reached 80.9%, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24. The report was released by the National Sample Survey Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. It shows that while India’s overall literacy level is improving, many gaps still exist between states, between men and women, and between rural and urban areas.

For people aged five years and above, the national literacy rate was 79.7%.

Top and bottom states in literacy

The top five states and union territories with the highest literacy rates (7+ age group) are Mizoram (98.2%), Lakshadweep (97.3%), Kerala (95.3%), Tripura (93.7%), and Goa (93.6%).

At the same time, the states with the lowest literacy rates in this group are Bihar (74.3%), Madhya Pradesh (75.2%), and Rajasthan (75.8%). For the 5+ age group, Bihar again ranks lowest at 73.2%, followed by Madhya Pradesh (73.7%) and Rajasthan (74.9%).

The report also shows that urban areas have better literacy rates than rural regions. For people aged seven years and above, the literacy rate in urban India was 88.9%, while in rural areas, it was 77.5%.

For example, Madhya Pradesh’s rural literacy rate is 71.6%, and its urban literacy rate is 85.7%, showing a gap of over 14 percentage points. Bihar’s rural literacy rate is 72.1%, while its urban literacy rate is 83.2%. In Rajasthan, rural literacy is 72.5%, and urban literacy is 84.7%.

Gender gaps still worrying

The gender gap in literacy remains a big concern. Nationally, the gap between male and female literacy rates for people aged seven and above is 12.6 percentage points. Rajasthan has the highest gender gap at 20.1%, with male literacy at 85.9% and female literacy at 65.8%. In Bihar, the gap is 16.2% (males: 82.3%, females: 66.1%). Madhya Pradesh has a gap of 16.1% (males: 83.1%, females: 67.0%).

In rural areas, this gap is even larger. Rural Rajasthan reports 83.6% male literacy and only 61.8% for females. Rural Bihar shows 81.5% for males and 65% for females. Rural Madhya Pradesh reports 80% male literacy and 62.6% for females.

However, in states like Mizoram and Kerala, the gender gap is much smaller. In Mizoram, male literacy is 99.2% and female literacy is 97%. In Kerala, male literacy is 96.7% and female literacy is 94%.

The PLFS 2023-24 makes it clear that even though literacy is improving, large gaps still exist in education across regions and groups.

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