Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female was 79.5% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1974–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) recorded 79.5% for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in 2019. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 79.5% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 55.5%, in 1974.
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 10th of 39 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 55.5% | — |
| 1975 | 55.6% | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 55.6% | +0.1% |
| 1977 | 55.7% | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 55.7% | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 55.8% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 55.8% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 56.4% | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 56.9% | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 57.4% | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 58.0% | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 58.5% | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 58.8% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 59.1% | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 60.3% | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 60.7% | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 60.7% | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 61.2% | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 61.9% | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 62.6% | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 63.4% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 64.2% | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 64.4% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 65.0% | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 66.4% | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 66.6% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 66.8% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 66.6% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 65.9% | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 66.7% | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 67.7% | +1.4% |
| 2005 | 68.4% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 69.4% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 70.0% | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 70.5% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 71.2% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 71.7% | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 72.7% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 74.4% | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 74.6% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 75.6% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 75.9% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 77.5% | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 78.1% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 78.7% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 79.5% | +1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 55.6% | 55.5% | 55.8% | 6 |
| 1980s | 58.2% | 55.8% | 60.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 63.6% | 60.7% | 66.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 68.3% | 65.9% | 71.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 75.9% | 71.7% | 79.5% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- 7 Argentina 97.2% compare
- 8 Republic of Moldova 96.1% compare
- 9 Grenada 96.0% compare
- 10 Montenegro 95.0% compare
- 11 Philippines 94.1% compare
- 12 Spain 93.7% compare
- 13 Greece 93.2% compare
More reference data data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- Exchange rate, new LCU per USD extended backward, period average 466.52 (2026)
- CPI Price, nominal 227.47 (2026)
- CPI Price, nominal, seas. adj. 223.29 (2026)
- School age population, one year before than official primary entry 5.10 million number (2019)
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes 6.17 years (2019)
- School age population, one year before than official primary entry 4.89 million number (2019)
- School age population, one year before than official primary entry 9.99 million number (2019)
- School life expectancy, primary, female 6.12 years (2019)
- School life expectancy, primary, male 6.21 years (2019)
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general 87.4% (2019)
All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was 79.5% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 79.5% in 2019.
- What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.5% in 1974.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female?
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 10th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
- Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Percentage of females 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 female literates aged 65 years and over by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.