Statizoid

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes (%) by country

Percentage of the population age 65 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of literates aged 65...

Countries reporting
81
Highest
99.9%
Uzbekistan
Lowest
7.0%
Chad
Median
72.7%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
2,190

What the numbers show

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes (%) is currently reported for 81 countries. The highest value is 99.9% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 7.0% in Chad.

The median across all reporting countries is 72.7%, and the mean is 65.0%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 14.

Over the past decade 73 countries rose and 6 fell. The largest increase was in Oman (up 282.7%), and the largest decrease in Cote d'Ivoire (down 11.3%).

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Uzbekistan 99.9% 2018 down 0.0% rising
2 Kazakhstan 99.5% 2018 up 0.8% rising
3 Tonga 99.2% 2018 up 1.2% flat
4 Barbados 98.5% 2014 unchanged flat
5 Azerbaijan 98.5% 2017 up 3.2% rising
6 Uruguay 97.8% 2018 up 1.8% rising
7 Argentina 97.6% 2018 down 0.0% rising
8 Moldova 97.1% 2014 up 8.5% rising
9 Montenegro 96.9% 2018 up 3.1% rising
10 Grenada 96.2% 2014 unchanged flat
11 Spain 95.2% 2018 up 3.5% rising
12 Greece 95.2% 2018 up 24.4% rising
13 Philippines 94.3% 2015 up 4.9% rising
14 Albania 93.4% 2018 up 16.2% flat
15 Jordan 90.7% 2018 up 93.3% rising
16 Chile 90.4% 2017 up 2.5% rising
17 Maldives 90.2% 2016 down 2.0% rising
18 Portugal 88.3% 2018 up 9.7% rising
19 Malta 88.2% 2018 up 7.8% rising
20 Venezuela 88.1% 2016 up 14.9% rising
21 Singapore 86.4% 2018 up 14.1% rising
22 Vietnam 85.8% 2018 up 11.7% rising
23 China 85.0% 2018 up 14.9% rising
24 Panama 85.0% 2018 up 5.0% rising
25 Colombia 83.3% 2018 up 8.5% rising
26 Macao 81.2% 2016 up 35.2% rising
27 Suriname 81.0% 2018 up 12.2% rising
28 Mexico 80.7% 2018 up 10.9% rising
29 Turkey 80.4% 2017 up 41.4% rising
30 Dominican Republic 79.8% 2016 up 16.5% rising
31 Sri Lanka 79.1% 2018 up 6.7% rising
32 Peru 79.0% 2018 up 20.1% rising
33 Seychelles 79.0% 2018 up 10.4% rising
34 Thailand 78.7% 2015 up 8.3% rising
35 Brazil 78.5% 2018 up 13.6% rising
36 Brunei 78.2% 2018 up 26.9% rising
37 Palestine 77.5% 2018 up 45.2% rising
38 Malaysia 75.5% 2018 up 29.1% rising
39 Indonesia 74.3% 2018 up 28.3% rising
40 Ecuador 73.0% 2017 up 1.9% rising
41 Kuwait 72.7% 2018 up 26.6% rising
42 Paraguay 72.0% 2018 down 6.6% rising
43 Bahrain 71.5% 2018 up 29.4% rising
44 Qatar 70.5% 2017 up 39.7% rising
45 Namibia 69.7% 2018 up 63.8% rising
46 Bolivia 67.5% 2015 up 18.3% rising
47 El Salvador 66.5% 2018 up 24.2% rising
48 Saudi Arabia 62.4% 2017 up 141.6% volatile
49 Honduras 61.4% 2018 up 21.0% rising
50 Zambia 60.2% 2018 up 18.8% rising
51 Laos 58.6% 2015 up 65.5% rising
52 Sao Tome and Principe 58.4% 2018 up 25.8% rising
53 Oman 56.9% 2018 up 282.7% rising
54 Eswatini 55.9% 2018 up 23.8% rising
56 Cambodia 53.1% 2015 up 39.1% rising
57 Vanuatu 50.9% 2018 up 52.4% rising
58 Guatemala 50.7% 2014 up 24.9% rising
59 India 45.4% 2018 up 28.8% rising
60 Tanzania 43.5% 2015 up 56.3% rising
61 Uganda 42.0% 2018 up 26.2% rising
62 Cameroon 40.6% 2018 up 107.4% rising
63 Tunisia 39.8% 2014 up 102.2% rising
64 Bangladesh 39.4% 2019 up 60.9% rising
65 Iran 36.8% 2016 up 32.2% rising
66 Malawi 35.1% 2015 up 1.5% rising
67 Morocco 34.1% 2018 up 87.8% rising
68 Algeria 33.5% 2018 up 71.4% rising
69 Egypt 32.9% 2017 up 22.9% rising
71 Mozambique 31.1% 2017 up 47.2% rising
72 Burundi 30.8% 2017 up 57.3% volatile
73 Rwanda 29.0% 2018 down 10.6% rising
74 Nigeria 28.3% 2018 up 31.2% rising
75 Senegal 27.7% 2017 up 48.9% rising
76 Pakistan 27.1% 2017 up 18.1% rising
77 Nepal 23.6% 2018 up 13.7% rising
78 Cote d'Ivoire 22.4% 2018 down 11.3% rising
79 Togo 20.4% 2015 up 26.1% rising
80 Mali 19.1% 2018 up 68.8% rising
81 Burkina Faso 10.1% 2018 up 30.5% volatile
82 Benin 8.2% 2018 up 0.3% rising
83 Chad 7.0% 2016 up 166.7% volatile

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

About this data

Indicator
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,190 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Percentage of the population age 65 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of literates aged 65 years and over by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.