Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean

Latin America & Caribbean: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female was 80.4% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
80.4%
Change on year
up 0.9%
Rank
7th
of 39 groups
All-time high
80.4%
in 2019
All-time low
57.2%
in 1974
Years of data
46
1974–2019

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean, 1974–2019

020406080197419962019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean stood at 80.4%. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 10.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 80.4% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 57.2%, in 1974.

That places Latin America & Caribbean 7th out of 39 groups with data for 2019, putting it 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, year by year

Annual values for Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%) in Latin America & Caribbean, 1974 to 2019.
Year % Change
1974 57.2%
1975 57.2% +0.1%
1976 57.3% +0.1%
1977 57.3% +0.1%
1978 57.4% +0.1%
1979 57.4% +0.1%
1980 57.5% +0.1%
1981 58.0% +0.9%
1982 58.5% +0.9%
1983 59.0% +0.9%
1984 59.5% +0.8%
1985 60.0% +0.8%
1986 60.3% +0.6%
1987 60.7% +0.6%
1988 61.8% +1.9%
1989 62.3% +0.7%
1990 62.3% +0.0%
1991 62.9% +0.9%
1992 63.5% +1.0%
1993 64.2% +1.0%
1994 65.0% +1.2%
1995 65.7% +1.2%
1996 65.9% +0.3%
1997 66.6% +1.0%
1998 67.8% +1.9%
1999 68.1% +0.4%
2000 68.3% +0.3%
2001 68.1% -0.3%
2002 67.5% -0.8%
2003 68.2% +1.0%
2004 69.1% +1.3%
2005 69.8% +1.0%
2006 70.8% +1.4%
2007 71.7% +1.3%
2008 71.8% +0.3%
2009 72.6% +1.0%
2010 73.0% +0.5%
2011 73.9% +1.3%
2012 75.5% +2.1%
2013 75.7% +0.3%
2014 76.6% +1.2%
2015 77.0% +0.5%
2016 78.5% +2.0%
2017 79.0% +0.7%
2018 79.7% +0.8%
2019 80.4% +0.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 57.3% 57.2% 57.4% 6
1980s 59.8% 57.5% 62.3% 10
1990s 65.2% 62.3% 68.1% 10
2000s 69.8% 67.5% 72.6% 10
2010s 76.9% 73.0% 80.4% 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean

  1. 4 Barbados 98.5% compare
  2. 5 Azerbaijan 98.3% compare
  3. 6 Uruguay 98.2% compare
  4. 7 Argentina 97.2% compare
  5. 8 Republic of Moldova 96.1% compare
  6. 9 Grenada 96.0% compare
  7. 10 Montenegro 95.0% compare

See the full ranking of 121 places →

More reference data data for Latin America & Caribbean

All data for Latin America & Caribbean →

Frequently asked questions

What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean?
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean was 80.4% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The highest recorded value was 80.4% in 2019.
What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The lowest recorded value was 57.2% in 1974.
How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female?
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 7th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
Over the last ten years it is up 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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.

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Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/elderly-literacy-rate-population-65-years-female-percent/latin-america-and-caribbean/

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About this data

Indicator
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
121 places, 2,197 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

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.