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

Latin America & Caribbean: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male was 84.3% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
84.3%
Change on year
up 0.9%
Rank
10th
of 38 groups
All-time high
84.3%
in 2019
All-time low
66.0%
in 1980
Years of data
46
1974–2019

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

020406080197419962019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Latin America & Caribbean recorded 84.3% for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in 2019. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.

The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 7.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 84.3% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 66.0%, in 1980.

That places Latin America & Caribbean 10th out of 38 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, male in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year

Annual values for Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male (%) in Latin America & Caribbean, 1974 to 2019.
Year % Change
1974 66.2%
1975 66.2% -0.1%
1976 66.1% -0.1%
1977 66.1% -0.0%
1978 66.1% -0.0%
1979 66.1% -0.0%
1980 66.0% -0.0%
1981 66.5% +0.7%
1982 67.0% +0.7%
1983 67.5% +0.7%
1984 68.0% +0.7%
1985 68.4% +0.7%
1986 68.8% +0.6%
1987 69.3% +0.7%
1988 70.3% +1.4%
1989 70.7% +0.6%
1990 70.7% +0.0%
1991 70.9% +0.3%
1992 71.2% +0.3%
1993 71.4% +0.4%
1994 71.8% +0.5%
1995 72.2% +0.5%
1996 72.4% +0.3%
1997 72.9% +0.7%
1998 73.9% +1.3%
1999 74.3% +0.5%
2000 74.4% +0.2%
2001 74.4% -0.1%
2002 73.6% -1.0%
2003 74.3% +0.9%
2004 74.3% +0.1%
2005 75.9% +2.1%
2006 76.6% +0.9%
2007 77.5% +1.1%
2008 77.5% +0.1%
2009 78.3% +1.1%
2010 77.9% -0.6%
2011 79.0% +1.4%
2012 80.0% +1.3%
2013 80.1% +0.1%
2014 81.0% +1.1%
2015 81.4% +0.5%
2016 82.7% +1.5%
2017 83.1% +0.5%
2018 83.6% +0.6%
2019 84.3% +0.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 66.1% 66.1% 66.2% 6
1980s 68.3% 66.0% 70.7% 10
1990s 72.2% 70.7% 74.3% 10
2000s 75.7% 73.6% 78.3% 10
2010s 81.3% 77.9% 84.3% 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean

  1. 7 Barbados 98.6% compare
  2. 8 Argentina 98.1% compare
  3. 9 Greece 97.7% compare
  4. 10 Uruguay 97.3% compare
  5. 11 Spain 97.1% compare
  6. 12 Grenada 96.6% compare
  7. 13 Jordan 96.5% 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, male in Latin America & Caribbean?
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean was 84.3% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The highest recorded value was 84.3% in 2019.
What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The lowest recorded value was 66.0% in 1980.
How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male?
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 10th out of 38 groups with data for 2019.
Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.7%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male in Latin America & Caribbean. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/elderly-literacy-rate-population-65-years-male-percent/latin-america-and-caribbean/

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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.