Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Arab World

Arab World: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female was 64.6% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
64.6%
Change on year
up 0.7%
Rank
27th
of 39 groups
All-time high
64.6%
in 2019
All-time low
22.3%
in 1977
Years of data
43
1977–2019

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Arab World, 1977–2019

20304050601977199820191977: 22.3 %1978: 22.6 %1979: 23.1 %1980: 23.6 %1981: 24.2 %1982: 25 %1983: 25.3 %1984: 26 %1985: 26.7 %1986: 27.6 %1987: 28.3 %1988: 29.4 %1989: 30.5 %1990: 31.6 %1991: 32.8 %1992: 34 %1993: 35.1 %1994: 36.3 %1995: 37.6 %1996: 39.2 %1997: 40.7 %1998: 42.4 %1999: 44 %2000: 45.6 %2001: 47.1 %2002: 48.7 %2003: 52.1 %2004: 53.6 %2005: 53.8 %2006: 53.2 %2007: 54 %2008: 55.8 %2009: 54.7 %2010: 55.9 %2011: 58.9 %2012: 60.4 %2013: 60 %2014: 62.6 %2015: 63.4 %2016: 62.7 %2017: 63.5 %2018: 64.1 %2019: 64.6 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Arab World stood at 64.6%. That is the highest value across all 43 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 17.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Arab World peaked at 64.6% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 22.3%, in 1977.

Arab World ranks 27th of 39 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 22.7% 22.3% 23.1% 3
1980s 26.7% 23.6% 30.5% 10
1990s 37.4% 31.6% 44.0% 10
2000s 51.9% 45.6% 55.8% 10
2010s 61.6% 55.9% 64.6% 10

Countries ranked near Arab World

  1. 24 Macao 97.3% compare
  2. 25 Colombia 96.3% compare
  3. 26 Bahrain 96.2% compare
  4. 27 Palestine 96.0% compare
  5. 28 Malaysia 96.0% compare
  6. 29 Mexico 96.0% compare
  7. 30 Turkey 95.9% compare

See the full ranking of 122 places →

More reference data data for Arab World

All data for Arab World →

Frequently asked questions

What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Arab World?
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Arab World was 64.6% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in Arab World?
The highest recorded value was 64.6% in 2019.
What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in Arab World?
The lowest recorded value was 22.3% in 1977.
How does Arab World rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female?
Arab World ranks 27th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female rising or falling in Arab World?
Over the last ten years it is up 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Arab World data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,216 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Percentage of the female population between age 25 and age 64 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 25-64 years by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.