Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity was 0.8528 GPIA in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
0.8528 GPIA
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
22nd
of 37 groups
All-time high
0.8596 GPIA
in 2017
All-time low
0.4993 GPIA
in 1973
Years of data
47
1973–2019

Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1973–2019

00.20.40.60.8197319962019

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 stood at 0.8528 GPIA.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan peaked at 0.8596 GPIA in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.4993 GPIA, in 1973.

That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 22nd out of 37 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1973 to 2019.
Year GPIA Change
1973 0.4993 GPIA
1974 0.504 GPIA +1.0%
1975 0.5091 GPIA +1.0%
1976 0.5199 GPIA +2.1%
1977 0.52 GPIA +0.0%
1978 0.5267 GPIA +1.3%
1979 0.5343 GPIA +1.4%
1980 0.5417 GPIA +1.4%
1981 0.5498 GPIA +1.5%
1982 0.5594 GPIA +1.7%
1983 0.5728 GPIA +2.4%
1984 0.5831 GPIA +1.8%
1985 0.5912 GPIA +1.4%
1986 0.6033 GPIA +2.0%
1987 0.6109 GPIA +1.3%
1988 0.6208 GPIA +1.6%
1989 0.6313 GPIA +1.7%
1990 0.6525 GPIA +3.4%
1991 0.6646 GPIA +1.9%
1992 0.6739 GPIA +1.4%
1993 0.671 GPIA -0.4%
1994 0.6832 GPIA +1.8%
1995 0.6985 GPIA +2.2%
1996 0.7144 GPIA +2.3%
1997 0.7199 GPIA +0.8%
1998 0.7296 GPIA +1.3%
1999 0.7397 GPIA +1.4%
2000 0.7499 GPIA +1.4%
2001 0.7573 GPIA +1.0%
2002 0.7606 GPIA +0.4%
2003 0.7679 GPIA +1.0%
2004 0.778 GPIA +1.3%
2005 0.7843 GPIA +0.8%
2006 0.8017 GPIA +2.2%
2007 0.8015 GPIA -0.0%
2008 0.8077 GPIA +0.8%
2009 0.8135 GPIA +0.7%
2010 0.8222 GPIA +1.1%
2011 0.8257 GPIA +0.4%
2012 0.8313 GPIA +0.7%
2013 0.8246 GPIA -0.8%
2014 0.8398 GPIA +1.8%
2015 0.8409 GPIA +0.1%
2016 0.847 GPIA +0.7%
2017 0.8596 GPIA +1.5%
2018 0.8504 GPIA -1.1%
2019 0.8528 GPIA +0.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.5162 GPIA 0.4993 GPIA 0.5343 GPIA 7
1980s 0.5864 GPIA 0.5417 GPIA 0.6313 GPIA 10
1990s 0.6947 GPIA 0.6525 GPIA 0.7397 GPIA 10
2000s 0.7822 GPIA 0.7499 GPIA 0.8135 GPIA 10
2010s 0.8394 GPIA 0.8222 GPIA 0.8596 GPIA 10

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

  1. 19 Azerbaijan 0.9986 GPIA compare
  2. 20 Chile 0.9985 GPIA compare
  3. 21 Namibia 0.9979 GPIA compare
  4. 22 Moldova 0.9954 GPIA compare
  5. 23 Albania 0.9924 GPIA compare
  6. 24 Jordan 0.9921 GPIA compare
  7. 25 Spain 0.9904 GPIA compare

See the full ranking of 124 places →

More reference data data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan was 0.8528 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?
The highest recorded value was 0.8596 GPIA in 2017.
What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 0.4993 GPIA in 1973.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 22nd 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?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 17 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/

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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/