Pakistan’s literacy rate has risen to 63% over the past two years, crossing the 60% mark that officials and educators have long treated as a national milestone. The gain leaves Punjab ahead of the other provinces, while Balochistan remains furthest behind.
How the provinces compare
Punjab’s literacy rate moved from 66.25% to 68%. Sindh edged up from 57.54% to 58%. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded a sharper rise, from 51.09% to 58%. Balochistan improved from 42.01% to around 49%, still the lowest provincial figure in the country.
Those shifts mean three provinces now sit at or above 58%, but the spread between Punjab and Balochistan remains nearly 20 percentage points. Progress is real; it is also uneven.
Men, women, cities and villages
In Punjab, overall literacy is 68%, with 75% of men and 62% of women counted as literate. Sindh’s 58% breaks down to 68% for men and 47% for women. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa matches Sindh’s overall 58%, but with 73% of men and 43% of women literate. Balochistan’s roughly 49% includes 61% of men and 37% of women.
Across provinces, urban literacy stands at 74%, compared with 55% in rural areas. That 19-point city–village gap sits alongside the gender gaps and helps explain why national averages can mask very different daily realities for households.
Schools and what the figures rest on
According to the Pakistan Institute of Education and the Ministry of Education, the country has 342,547 educational institutions. The same authorities are tied to the literacy figures now in circulation. The data do not, by themselves, show how fast enrolment, quality of teaching, or school completion are changing—only that measured literacy has moved upward over two years.
For families, the headline Pakistan literacy rate of 63% is a national scorecard. The provincial, gender, and urban–rural splits are the parts that shape who can fill out a form, follow a job notice, or support a child’s homework without help.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan ki literacy rate ab 63 percent ho gayi hai, pichhle do saalon mein. Punjab sab se aage hai, Balochistan ab bhi peeche. Shehron mein padhai zyada hai, gaon mein kam; mardon ki rate auraton se oopar hai. Seedhi baat yeh hai ke mulk aage badha hai, lekin har ilaqe aur har ghar tak yeh faida barabar nahi pahuncha.
