Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Arab World

Arab World: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity was 0.8257 GPIA in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
0.8257 GPIA
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
26th
of 36 groups
All-time high
0.835 GPIA
in 2017
All-time low
0.5128 GPIA
in 1977
Years of data
43
1977–2019

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Arab World, 1977–2019

00.20.40.60.81977199820191977: 0.513 GPIA1978: 0.519 GPIA1979: 0.525 GPIA1980: 0.532 GPIA1981: 0.539 GPIA1982: 0.548 GPIA1983: 0.555 GPIA1984: 0.565 GPIA1985: 0.572 GPIA1986: 0.58 GPIA1987: 0.588 GPIA1988: 0.597 GPIA1989: 0.606 GPIA1990: 0.615 GPIA1991: 0.624 GPIA1992: 0.635 GPIA1993: 0.629 GPIA1994: 0.641 GPIA1995: 0.648 GPIA1996: 0.665 GPIA1997: 0.672 GPIA1998: 0.682 GPIA1999: 0.693 GPIA2000: 0.71 GPIA2001: 0.713 GPIA2002: 0.724 GPIA2003: 0.727 GPIA2004: 0.738 GPIA2005: 0.745 GPIA2006: 0.763 GPIA2007: 0.762 GPIA2008: 0.774 GPIA2009: 0.766 GPIA2010: 0.777 GPIA2011: 0.791 GPIA2012: 0.805 GPIA2013: 0.796 GPIA2014: 0.815 GPIA2015: 0.811 GPIA2016: 0.824 GPIA2017: 0.835 GPIA2018: 0.823 GPIA2019: 0.826 GPIA

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.

Analysis

In 2019, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Arab World stood at 0.8257 GPIA.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 7.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Arab World peaked at 0.835 GPIA in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.5128 GPIA, in 1977.

That places Arab World 26th out of 36 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Arab World, year by year

Annual values for Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) in Arab World, 1977 to 2019.
Year GPIA Change
1977 0.5128 GPIA
1978 0.5187 GPIA +1.1%
1979 0.5255 GPIA +1.3%
1980 0.5321 GPIA +1.3%
1981 0.539 GPIA +1.3%
1982 0.5476 GPIA +1.6%
1983 0.5554 GPIA +1.4%
1984 0.5647 GPIA +1.7%
1985 0.5716 GPIA +1.2%
1986 0.5796 GPIA +1.4%
1987 0.5883 GPIA +1.5%
1988 0.5966 GPIA +1.4%
1989 0.6056 GPIA +1.5%
1990 0.6147 GPIA +1.5%
1991 0.6236 GPIA +1.4%
1992 0.6348 GPIA +1.8%
1993 0.6287 GPIA -1.0%
1994 0.6405 GPIA +1.9%
1995 0.6484 GPIA +1.2%
1996 0.6649 GPIA +2.6%
1997 0.6715 GPIA +1.0%
1998 0.6822 GPIA +1.6%
1999 0.6933 GPIA +1.6%
2000 0.7096 GPIA +2.3%
2001 0.7128 GPIA +0.5%
2002 0.7237 GPIA +1.5%
2003 0.7266 GPIA +0.4%
2004 0.738 GPIA +1.6%
2005 0.7452 GPIA +1.0%
2006 0.7626 GPIA +2.3%
2007 0.7622 GPIA -0.1%
2008 0.774 GPIA +1.6%
2009 0.7662 GPIA -1.0%
2010 0.7772 GPIA +1.4%
2011 0.7912 GPIA +1.8%
2012 0.805 GPIA +1.7%
2013 0.7956 GPIA -1.2%
2014 0.8151 GPIA +2.5%
2015 0.8114 GPIA -0.5%
2016 0.8239 GPIA +1.5%
2017 0.835 GPIA +1.3%
2018 0.8233 GPIA -1.4%
2019 0.8257 GPIA +0.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.519 GPIA 0.5128 GPIA 0.5255 GPIA 3
1980s 0.568 GPIA 0.5321 GPIA 0.6056 GPIA 10
1990s 0.6503 GPIA 0.6147 GPIA 0.6933 GPIA 10
2000s 0.7421 GPIA 0.7096 GPIA 0.774 GPIA 10
2010s 0.8103 GPIA 0.7772 GPIA 0.835 GPIA 10

Countries ranked near Arab World

  1. 23 Albania 0.9924 GPIA compare
  2. 24 Jordan 0.9921 GPIA compare
  3. 25 Spain 0.9904 GPIA compare
  4. 26 Paraguay 0.9896 GPIA compare
  5. 27 Greece 0.9887 GPIA compare
  6. 28 Panama 0.9887 GPIA compare
  7. 29 Montenegro 0.9881 GPIA compare

See the full ranking of 124 places →

More reference data data for Arab World

All data for Arab World →

Frequently asked questions

What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Arab World?
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Arab World was 0.8257 GPIA in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Arab World?
The highest recorded value was 0.835 GPIA in 2017.
What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Arab World?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5128 GPIA in 1977.
How does Arab World rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity?
Arab World ranks 26th out of 36 groups with data for 2019.
Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in Arab World?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Arab World data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Arab World. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/adult-literacy-rate-population-15-years-adjusted-gender-parity-index-gpia/arab-world/

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About this data

Indicator
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA)
Unit
GPIA
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
124 places, 2,183 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

The Adjusted Gender Parity Index (GPIA) is calculated by dividing the female value for the indicator by the male value for the indicator. If the resulting value exceeds 1, the ratio is inverted and subtracted from 2. The adjusted gender parity index is symmetrical around 1 and lies in the range 0-2. An adjusted GPI equal to 1 indicates parity between females and males. In general, a value less than 1 indicates disparity in favor of males and a value greater than 1 indicates disparity in favor of females. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute for Statistics: http://uis.unesco.org/