Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity was 0.8442 GPIA in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
0.8442 GPIA
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
23rd
of 37 groups
All-time high
0.8504 GPIA
in 2017
All-time low
0.4587 GPIA
in 1972
Years of data
48
1972–2019

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 1972–2019

00.20.40.60.8197219952019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.

Analysis

In 2019, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) stood at 0.8442 GPIA.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) peaked at 0.8504 GPIA in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.4587 GPIA, in 1972.

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 23rd of 37 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), year by year

Annual values for Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 1972 to 2019.
Year GPIA Change
1972 0.4587 GPIA
1973 0.4639 GPIA +1.1%
1974 0.4693 GPIA +1.2%
1975 0.4751 GPIA +1.2%
1976 0.4876 GPIA +2.6%
1977 0.488 GPIA +0.1%
1978 0.496 GPIA +1.6%
1979 0.5044 GPIA +1.7%
1980 0.5133 GPIA +1.8%
1981 0.5227 GPIA +1.8%
1982 0.5336 GPIA +2.1%
1983 0.549 GPIA +2.9%
1984 0.5609 GPIA +2.2%
1985 0.5703 GPIA +1.7%
1986 0.5843 GPIA +2.5%
1987 0.5932 GPIA +1.5%
1988 0.6038 GPIA +1.8%
1989 0.6151 GPIA +1.9%
1990 0.6384 GPIA +3.8%
1991 0.6512 GPIA +2.0%
1992 0.6595 GPIA +1.3%
1993 0.6565 GPIA -0.5%
1994 0.6694 GPIA +2.0%
1995 0.6857 GPIA +2.4%
1996 0.7027 GPIA +2.5%
1997 0.7081 GPIA +0.8%
1998 0.7184 GPIA +1.5%
1999 0.7289 GPIA +1.5%
2000 0.7389 GPIA +1.4%
2001 0.7471 GPIA +1.1%
2002 0.7502 GPIA +0.4%
2003 0.7538 GPIA +0.5%
2004 0.764 GPIA +1.4%
2005 0.7712 GPIA +1.0%
2006 0.7909 GPIA +2.5%
2007 0.7901 GPIA -0.1%
2008 0.7966 GPIA +0.8%
2009 0.8032 GPIA +0.8%
2010 0.8122 GPIA +1.1%
2011 0.8139 GPIA +0.2%
2012 0.818 GPIA +0.5%
2013 0.8101 GPIA -1.0%
2014 0.8266 GPIA +2.0%
2015 0.8306 GPIA +0.5%
2016 0.8359 GPIA +0.6%
2017 0.8504 GPIA +1.7%
2018 0.8415 GPIA -1.0%
2019 0.8442 GPIA +0.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.4804 GPIA 0.4587 GPIA 0.5044 GPIA 8
1980s 0.5646 GPIA 0.5133 GPIA 0.6151 GPIA 10
1990s 0.6819 GPIA 0.6384 GPIA 0.7289 GPIA 10
2000s 0.7706 GPIA 0.7389 GPIA 0.8032 GPIA 10
2010s 0.8283 GPIA 0.8101 GPIA 0.8504 GPIA 10

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

  1. 20 Chile 0.9985 GPIA compare
  2. 21 Namibia 0.9979 GPIA compare
  3. 22 Moldova 0.9954 GPIA compare
  4. 23 Albania 0.9924 GPIA compare
  5. 24 Jordan 0.9921 GPIA compare
  6. 25 Spain 0.9904 GPIA compare
  7. 26 Paraguay 0.9896 GPIA compare

See the full ranking of 124 places →

More reference data data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) →

Frequently asked questions

What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) was 0.8442 GPIA in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
The highest recorded value was 0.8504 GPIA in 2017.
What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
The lowest recorded value was 0.4587 GPIA in 1972.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 23rd out of 37 groups with data for 2019.
Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/adult-literacy-rate-population-15-years-adjusted-gender-parity-index-gpia/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan-excluding-high-income/

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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/