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

Iran: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity was 0.8941 GPIA in 2016. ▲ Rising

Latest (2016)
0.8941 GPIA
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
60th
of 87 countries
All-time high
0.8941 GPIA
in 2016
All-time low
0.5069 GPIA
in 1976
Years of data
12
1976–2016

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Iran, 1976–2016

00.20.40.60.81976199620161976: 0.507 GPIA1986: 0.65 GPIA1991: 0.756 GPIA1996: 0.827 GPIA2002: 0.843 GPIA2005: 0.873 GPIA2006: 0.885 GPIA2008: 0.881 GPIA2012: 0.882 GPIA2013: 0.891 GPIA2014: 0.891 GPIA2016: 0.894 GPIA

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.

Analysis

The most recent figure for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Iran is 0.8941 GPIA, measured in 2016. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Iran peaked at 0.8941 GPIA in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.5069 GPIA, in 1976.

That places Iran 60th out of 87 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) in Iran, 1976 to 2016.
Year GPIA Change
1976 0.5069 GPIA
1986 0.6503 GPIA +28.3%
1991 0.7561 GPIA +16.3%
1996 0.8272 GPIA +9.4%
2002 0.8431 GPIA +1.9%
2005 0.8727 GPIA +3.5%
2006 0.8851 GPIA +1.4%
2008 0.8811 GPIA -0.4%
2012 0.8823 GPIA +0.1%
2013 0.8907 GPIA +1.0%
2014 0.8907 GPIA +0.0%
2016 0.8941 GPIA +0.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.5069 GPIA 0.5069 GPIA 0.5069 GPIA 1
1980s 0.6503 GPIA 0.6503 GPIA 0.6503 GPIA 1
1990s 0.7916 GPIA 0.7561 GPIA 0.8272 GPIA 2
2000s 0.8705 GPIA 0.8431 GPIA 0.8851 GPIA 4
2010s 0.8895 GPIA 0.8823 GPIA 0.8941 GPIA 4

Countries ranked near Iran

  1. 57 Bolivia 0.9177 GPIA compare
  2. 58 Zambia 0.917 GPIA compare
  3. 59 Rwanda 0.8947 GPIA compare
  4. 61 Laos 0.8825 GPIA compare
  5. 62 Guatemala 0.8803 GPIA compare
  6. 63 Tanzania 0.8785 GPIA compare

See the full ranking of 124 places →

More reference data data for Iran

All data for Iran →

Frequently asked questions

What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Iran?
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Iran was 0.8941 GPIA in 2016, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Iran?
The highest recorded value was 0.8941 GPIA in 2016.
What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Iran?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5069 GPIA in 1976.
How does Iran rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity?
Iran ranks 60th out of 87 countries with data for 2016.
Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in Iran?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iran 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 Iran. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/adult-literacy-rate-population-15-years-adjusted-gender-parity-index-gpia/iran-islamic-rep/

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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/