Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male was 83.8% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
83.8%
Change on year
up 0.9%
Rank
11th
of 38 groups
All-time high
83.8%
in 2019
All-time low
65.0%
in 1980
Years of data
46
1974–2019

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1974–2019

020406080197419962019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) stood at 83.8%. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 8.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 83.8% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 65.0%, in 1980.

That places Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 11th out of 38 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), year by year

Annual values for Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male (%) in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1974 to 2019.
Year % Change
1974 65.2%
1975 65.2% -0.1%
1976 65.2% -0.1%
1977 65.1% -0.0%
1978 65.1% -0.0%
1979 65.1% -0.0%
1980 65.0% -0.1%
1981 65.6% +0.8%
1982 66.1% +0.8%
1983 66.6% +0.8%
1984 67.1% +0.7%
1985 67.6% +0.7%
1986 68.0% +0.6%
1987 68.4% +0.6%
1988 69.4% +1.5%
1989 69.8% +0.5%
1990 69.8% -0.0%
1991 70.0% +0.3%
1992 70.2% +0.3%
1993 70.5% +0.4%
1994 70.9% +0.5%
1995 71.2% +0.5%
1996 71.4% +0.3%
1997 72.0% +0.7%
1998 73.0% +1.4%
1999 73.3% +0.5%
2000 73.5% +0.2%
2001 73.5% -0.1%
2002 72.6% -1.1%
2003 73.3% +1.0%
2004 73.4% +0.1%
2005 75.1% +2.3%
2006 75.7% +0.9%
2007 76.4% +0.8%
2008 76.7% +0.4%
2009 77.5% +1.0%
2010 77.1% -0.6%
2011 78.2% +1.5%
2012 79.3% +1.4%
2013 79.4% +0.1%
2014 80.3% +1.2%
2015 80.7% +0.4%
2016 82.0% +1.6%
2017 82.5% +0.6%
2018 83.0% +0.6%
2019 83.8% +0.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 65.2% 65.1% 65.2% 6
1980s 67.4% 65.0% 69.8% 10
1990s 71.2% 69.8% 73.3% 10
2000s 74.8% 72.6% 77.5% 10
2010s 80.6% 77.1% 83.8% 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

  1. 8 Argentina 98.1% compare
  2. 9 Greece 97.7% compare
  3. 10 Uruguay 97.3% compare
  4. 11 Spain 97.1% compare
  5. 12 Grenada 96.6% compare
  6. 13 Jordan 96.5% compare
  7. 14 Singapore 95.5% compare

See the full ranking of 121 places →

More reference data data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →

Frequently asked questions

What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was 83.8% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
The highest recorded value was 83.8% in 2019.
What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
The lowest recorded value was 65.0% in 1980.
How does Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male?
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 11th out of 38 groups with data for 2019.
Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/elderly-literacy-rate-population-65-years-male-percent/latin-america-and-caribbean-excluding-high-income/

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About this data

Indicator
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
121 places, 2,187 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Percentage of males 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 male literates aged 65 years and over by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.