Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, both sexes (%) by country
Percentage of the population age 65 and above in rural areas 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...
What the numbers show
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, both sexes (%) is currently reported for 37 countries. The highest value is 99.8% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 4.7% in Burkina Faso.
The median across all reporting countries is 57.0%, and the mean is 54.8%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 21.
Over the past decade 34 countries rose and 3 fell. The largest increase was in Morocco (up 155.9%), and the largest decrease in South Africa (down 49.8%).
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, both sexes: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 99.8% | 2018 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 2 | Azerbaijan | 98.6% | 2017 | up 6.1% | rising |
| 3 | Republic of Moldova | 96.5% | 2014 | up 11.0% | rising |
| 4 | Uruguay | 94.7% | 2018 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 5 | Spain | 94.1% | 2018 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 6 | Greece | 87.5% | 2011 | up 7.8% | rising |
| 7 | Kuwait | 78.8% | 2018 | up 24.7% | rising |
| 8 | Chile | 77.9% | 2017 | up 5.3% | rising |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 77.2% | 2018 | up 6.1% | rising |
| 10 | Thailand | 75.0% | 2015 | up 7.8% | rising |
| 11 | Türkiye | 73.0% | 2015 | up 52.3% | rising |
| 12 | Palestine, State of | 71.9% | 2018 | up 58.8% | rising |
| 13 | Dominican Republic | 71.7% | 2016 | up 29.2% | rising |
| 14 | Colombia | 67.0% | 2018 | up 14.5% | rising |
| 15 | Indonesia | 66.8% | 2018 | up 31.1% | rising |
| 16 | Malaysia | 63.7% | 2018 | up 37.4% | rising |
| 17 | Paraguay | 62.4% | 2018 | down 6.9% | flat |
| 18 | Mexico | 61.7% | 2018 | up 18.4% | rising |
| 19 | Ecuador | 57.0% | 2017 | up 12.1% | rising |
| 20 | Brazil | 55.4% | 2018 | up 24.8% | rising |
| 21 | Peru | 53.1% | 2018 | up 23.1% | rising |
| 22 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 50.7% | 2015 | up 30.9% | rising |
| 23 | Cambodia | 49.4% | 2015 | up 35.3% | rising |
| 24 | El Salvador | 48.2% | 2017 | up 42.0% | rising |
| 25 | Honduras | 45.8% | 2018 | up 22.3% | rising |
| 26 | Uganda | 34.4% | 2012 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 27 | Guatemala | 31.0% | 2014 | up 40.3% | rising |
| 28 | Bangladesh | 30.9% | 2019 | up 22.4% | rising |
| 29 | South Africa | 23.7% | 2017 | down 49.8% | rising |
| 30 | Senegal | 22.4% | 2017 | up 84.8% | rising |
| 31 | Pakistan | 19.8% | 2017 | up 20.5% | rising |
| 32 | Morocco | 18.5% | 2012 | up 155.9% | volatile |
| 33 | Tunisia | 18.4% | 2014 | up 60.5% | rising |
| 34 | Egypt | 17.8% | 2017 | up 7.2% | rising |
| 35 | Mali | 14.4% | 2018 | up 125.9% | rising |
| 36 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 13.7% | 2016 | up 14.7% | rising |
| 37 | Burkina Faso | 4.7% | 2014 | up 56.9% | rising |
About this data
Percentage of the population age 65 and above in rural areas 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 literates aged 65 years and over by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/