Dalmatian hinterland is space with specific geographical, cultural and historical characteristics. The main aim of this work is to explore how flowed the development of literacy in the Dalmatian hinterland. To achieve the aim, it was necessary first of all to determine the exact number of settlements falling within the scope of the Dalmatian hinterland. It was also necessary to classify settlements to smaller areas of the Dalmatian hinterland. The development of literacy is analyzed over a period of 40 years, from 1961 to 2001. The analysis was done on the basis of the three censuses in 1961, 1991 and 2001 at the level of settlements. The results showed some rules in the development of literacy, for example, the share of literate people is always higher in the towns and villages that are in the immediate vicinity. There are obtained differences between the percentage of literate people in the areas of the Dalmatian hinterland and explained the reasons for the different rates of literacy in the study area. The main reasons are geographical factors and (non)existence of schools in settlements. Literacy is analyzed with regard to the size of the settlments and it turned out that literacy and size of settlements are not correlated. Altough literacy grows since 1961, it is explained why in some settlments the literacy is reducing. The percentage of literate people is different considering to their age and gender. It is the lowest among the population older than 65 years and among females, although the differences between male and female literacy is constantly decreasing. The research results show that in the Dalmatian hinterland can be seen significant factors related to literacy, which helps to explain some other social phenomena related to this area. The demographic situation in the Dalmatian hinterland is extremely unfavorable, and its main characteristics are depopulation and aging population. Nevertheless, the percentage of literate people will grow in the future, considering that the most of the illiterate people are older age, while the illeteracy is extremly rare among middle-aged and young population.