Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female was 29.1% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
29.1%
Change on year
up 3.6%
Rank
26th
of 39 groups
All-time high
29.1%
in 2019
All-time low
7.6%
in 1973
Years of data
47
1973–2019

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1973–2019

1015202530197319962019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan stood at 29.1%. That is the highest value across all 47 years on record.

The figure is up 3.6% on the previous year and up 46.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan peaked at 29.1% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 7.6%, in 1973.

That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 26th out of 39 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, year by year

Annual values for Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1973 to 2019.
Year % Change
1973 7.6%
1974 7.6% +1.2%
1975 7.7% +1.4%
1976 7.8% +1.1%
1977 8.1% +2.8%
1978 8.3% +2.6%
1979 8.5% +2.2%
1980 8.6% +1.7%
1981 8.7% +0.9%
1982 8.7% +0.6%
1983 10.0% +14.9%
1984 10.0% -0.4%
1985 9.9% -0.4%
1986 9.9% -0.4%
1987 10.0% +0.8%
1988 10.1% +0.7%
1989 10.1% +0.8%
1990 10.9% +7.2%
1991 11.0% +0.8%
1992 11.1% +1.5%
1993 10.8% -2.5%
1994 11.1% +2.0%
1995 11.0% -0.4%
1996 11.3% +2.2%
1997 11.5% +2.0%
1998 11.9% +3.8%
1999 12.2% +2.5%
2000 12.5% +2.2%
2001 12.9% +3.1%
2002 13.5% +4.9%
2003 17.3% +27.8%
2004 17.3% -0.0%
2005 13.4% -22.3%
2006 15.3% +14.0%
2007 16.1% +5.4%
2008 16.8% +4.0%
2009 19.9% +18.5%
2010 20.5% +3.4%
2011 22.7% +10.8%
2012 24.9% +9.5%
2013 24.9% +0.2%
2014 26.7% +6.9%
2015 27.4% +2.7%
2016 26.0% -5.0%
2017 27.4% +5.4%
2018 28.1% +2.6%
2019 29.1% +3.6%

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2003 +27.8% 13.5% 17.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 7.9% 7.6% 8.5% 7
1980s 9.6% 8.6% 10.1% 10
1990s 11.3% 10.8% 12.2% 10
2000s 15.5% 12.5% 19.9% 10
2010s 25.8% 20.5% 29.1% 10

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

  1. 23 Colombia 83.2% compare
  2. 24 Seychelles 81.0% compare
  3. 25 Viet Nam 80.3% compare
  4. 26 Singapore 78.9% compare
  5. 27 Dominican Republic 78.0% compare
  6. 28 China 78.0% compare
  7. 29 Brazil 77.9% compare

See the full ranking of 121 places →

More reference data data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan was 29.1% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 29.1% in 2019.
What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 7.6% in 1973.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 26th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 46.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/elderly-literacy-rate-population-65-years-female-percent/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan/

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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.