Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender in South Africa

South Africa: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender was 0.9038 GPIA in 2017. ▬ Flat

Latest (2017)
0.9038 GPIA
Change on year
down 6.3%
World rank
15th
of 38 countries
All-time high
0.9646 GPIA
in 2012
All-time low
0.9038 GPIA
in 2017
Years of data
8
1996–2017

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender in South Africa, 1996–2017

00.20.40.60.811996200620171996: 0.961 GPIA2009: 0.935 GPIA2010: 0.942 GPIA2011: 0.942 GPIA2012: 0.965 GPIA2014: 0.949 GPIA2015: 0.964 GPIA2017: 0.904 GPIA

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.

Analysis

In 2017, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender in South Africa stood at 0.9038 GPIA. That is the lowest value across all 8 years on record.

The figure is down 6.3% on the previous year and down 3.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender in South Africa peaked at 0.9646 GPIA in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.9038 GPIA, in 2017.

That places South Africa 15th out of 38 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA) in South Africa, 1996 to 2017.
Year GPIA Change
1996 0.961 GPIA
2009 0.9354 GPIA -2.7%
2010 0.9419 GPIA +0.7%
2011 0.9421 GPIA +0.0%
2012 0.9646 GPIA +2.4%
2014 0.9489 GPIA -1.6%
2015 0.9644 GPIA +1.6%
2017 0.9038 GPIA -6.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.961 GPIA 0.961 GPIA 0.961 GPIA 1
2000s 0.9354 GPIA 0.9354 GPIA 0.9354 GPIA 1
2010s 0.9443 GPIA 0.9038 GPIA 0.9646 GPIA 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 12 Ecuador 0.9274 GPIA compare
  2. 13 Paraguay 0.9252 GPIA compare
  3. 14 Sri Lanka 0.9075 GPIA compare
  4. 16 Honduras 0.8904 GPIA compare
  5. 17 Thailand 0.8893 GPIA compare
  6. 18 El Salvador 0.8639 GPIA compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender in South Africa?
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender in South Africa was 0.9038 GPIA in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.9646 GPIA in 2012.
What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.9038 GPIA in 2017.
How does South Africa rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender?
South Africa ranks 15th out of 38 countries with data for 2017.
Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/elderly-literacy-rate-population-65-years-urban-adjusted-gender-parity-index-gpia/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA)
Unit
GPIA
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
38 places, 360 data points, 1976–2019
Last refreshed

The Adjusted Gender Parity Index (GPIA) is calculated by dividing the female value for the indicator by the male value for the indicator. If the resulting value exceeds 1, the ratio is inverted and subtracted from 2. The adjusted gender parity index is symmetrical around 1 and lies in the range 0-2. An adjusted GPI equal to 1 indicates parity between females and males. In general, a value less than 1 indicates disparity in favor of males and a value greater than 1 indicates disparity in favor of females. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute for Statistics: http://uis.unesco.org/