Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity in South Africa

South Africa: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity was 0.8539 GPIA in 2017. ▼ Falling

Latest (2017)
0.8539 GPIA
Change on year
down 2.7%
World rank
36th
of 82 countries
All-time high
0.9397 GPIA
in 1980
All-time low
0.7953 GPIA
in 2007
Years of data
10
1980–2017

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity in South Africa, 1980–2017

00.20.40.60.811980199820171980: 0.94 GPIA1996: 0.901 GPIA2007: 0.795 GPIA2009: 0.866 GPIA2010: 0.857 GPIA2011: 0.871 GPIA2012: 0.868 GPIA2014: 0.87 GPIA2015: 0.877 GPIA2017: 0.854 GPIA

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.

Analysis

In 2017, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity in South Africa stood at 0.8539 GPIA.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.7% on the previous year and up 7.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity in South Africa peaked at 0.9397 GPIA in 1980 and was at its lowest, 0.7953 GPIA, in 2007.

That places South Africa 36th out of 82 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) in South Africa, 1980 to 2017.
Year GPIA Change
1980 0.9397 GPIA
1996 0.9007 GPIA -4.1%
2007 0.7953 GPIA -11.7%
2009 0.8663 GPIA +8.9%
2010 0.8567 GPIA -1.1%
2011 0.8705 GPIA +1.6%
2012 0.8675 GPIA -0.3%
2014 0.8696 GPIA +0.2%
2015 0.8774 GPIA +0.9%
2017 0.8539 GPIA -2.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 0.9397 GPIA 0.9397 GPIA 0.9397 GPIA 1
1990s 0.9007 GPIA 0.9007 GPIA 0.9007 GPIA 1
2000s 0.8308 GPIA 0.7953 GPIA 0.8663 GPIA 2
2010s 0.8659 GPIA 0.8539 GPIA 0.8774 GPIA 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 33 Sri Lanka 0.8743 GPIA compare
  2. 34 El Salvador 0.8617 GPIA compare
  3. 35 Thailand 0.8581 GPIA compare
  4. 37 Viet Nam 0.8499 GPIA compare
  5. 38 China 0.8399 GPIA compare
  6. 39 Eswatini 0.8381 GPIA compare

See the full ranking of 118 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity in South Africa?
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity in South Africa was 0.8539 GPIA in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.9397 GPIA in 1980.
What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.7953 GPIA in 2007.
How does South Africa rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity?
South Africa ranks 36th out of 82 countries with data for 2017.
Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/elderly-literacy-rate-population-65-years-adjusted-gender-parity-index-gpia/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA)
Unit
GPIA
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
118 places, 2,112 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/