Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)

Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries): Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female was 79.6% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
79.6%
Change on year
up 1.0%
Rank
9th
of 39 groups
All-time high
79.6%
in 2019
All-time low
55.1%
in 1974
Years of data
46
1974–2019

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), 1974–2019

020406080197419962019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 79.6% for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in 2019. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.

The figure is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 11.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 79.6% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 55.1%, in 1974.

That places Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 9th 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 & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year

Annual values for Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%) in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), 1974 to 2019.
Year % Change
1974 55.1%
1975 55.1% +0.1%
1976 55.1% +0.0%
1977 55.2% +0.1%
1978 55.2% +0.1%
1979 55.2% +0.1%
1980 55.3% +0.1%
1981 55.8% +1.0%
1982 56.4% +1.0%
1983 56.9% +1.0%
1984 57.4% +0.9%
1985 58.0% +0.9%
1986 58.4% +0.7%
1987 58.7% +0.5%
1988 59.9% +2.1%
1989 60.4% +0.8%
1990 60.4% +0.1%
1991 61.0% +1.0%
1992 61.7% +1.1%
1993 62.5% +1.2%
1994 63.3% +1.3%
1995 64.1% +1.3%
1996 64.4% +0.4%
1997 65.1% +1.1%
1998 66.4% +2.1%
1999 66.7% +0.5%
2000 66.9% +0.3%
2001 66.7% -0.3%
2002 66.1% -0.9%
2003 66.9% +1.1%
2004 67.8% +1.4%
2005 68.5% +1.1%
2006 69.6% +1.5%
2007 70.5% +1.3%
2008 70.7% +0.3%
2009 71.4% +1.0%
2010 71.8% +0.6%
2011 72.8% +1.4%
2012 74.5% +2.3%
2013 74.8% +0.3%
2014 75.7% +1.3%
2015 76.0% +0.4%
2016 77.6% +2.1%
2017 78.2% +0.8%
2018 78.9% +0.8%
2019 79.6% +1.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 55.2% 55.1% 55.2% 6
1980s 57.7% 55.3% 60.4% 10
1990s 63.6% 60.4% 66.7% 10
2000s 68.5% 66.1% 71.4% 10
2010s 76.0% 71.8% 79.6% 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)

  1. 6 Uruguay 98.2% compare
  2. 7 Argentina 97.2% compare
  3. 8 Republic of Moldova 96.1% compare
  4. 9 Grenada 96.0% compare
  5. 10 Montenegro 95.0% compare
  6. 11 Philippines 94.1% compare
  7. 12 Spain 93.7% compare

See the full ranking of 121 places →

More reference data data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)

All data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) →

Frequently asked questions

What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) was 79.6% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The highest recorded value was 79.6% in 2019.
What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The lowest recorded value was 55.1% in 1974.
How does Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female?
Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 9th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female rising or falling in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 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 & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/elderly-literacy-rate-population-65-years-female-percent/latin-america-and-the-caribbean-ida-and-ibrd-countries/

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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.