Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD): Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female was 69.0% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
69.0%
Change on year
up 0.9%
Rank
25th
of 39 groups
All-time high
69.0%
in 2019
All-time low
16.8%
in 1971
Years of data
49
1971–2019

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), 1971–2019

204060197119952019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) stood at 69.0%. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 11.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) peaked at 69.0% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 16.8%, in 1971.

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) ranks 25th of 39 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), year by year

Annual values for Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female (%) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), 1971 to 2019.
Year % Change
1971 16.8%
1972 17.1% +1.8%
1973 17.4% +1.9%
1974 17.7% +1.9%
1975 18.1% +2.2%
1976 18.7% +3.1%
1977 19.0% +1.8%
1978 19.6% +3.1%
1979 20.2% +3.2%
1980 21.0% +3.6%
1981 21.7% +3.6%
1982 22.6% +4.2%
1983 23.7% +4.6%
1984 24.6% +3.8%
1985 25.5% +3.9%
1986 26.7% +4.4%
1987 27.7% +3.7%
1988 28.9% +4.6%
1989 30.2% +4.3%
1990 33.3% +10.5%
1991 34.7% +4.2%
1992 36.2% +4.2%
1993 37.5% +3.8%
1994 39.0% +3.8%
1995 41.2% +5.9%
1996 43.1% +4.5%
1997 44.6% +3.4%
1998 46.4% +4.2%
1999 48.1% +3.5%
2000 49.6% +3.2%
2001 51.3% +3.5%
2002 52.9% +3.1%
2003 56.2% +6.3%
2004 57.8% +2.7%
2005 57.9% +0.2%
2006 58.3% +0.7%
2007 59.2% +1.5%
2008 60.4% +2.2%
2009 61.7% +2.1%
2010 62.8% +1.7%
2011 63.3% +0.8%
2012 64.1% +1.3%
2013 63.9% -0.2%
2014 66.3% +3.8%
2015 67.5% +1.8%
2016 66.4% -1.7%
2017 67.7% +1.9%
2018 68.3% +1.0%
2019 69.0% +0.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 18.3% 16.8% 20.2% 9
1980s 25.3% 21.0% 30.2% 10
1990s 40.4% 33.3% 48.1% 10
2000s 56.5% 49.6% 61.7% 10
2010s 65.9% 62.8% 69.0% 10

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)

  1. 22 China 97.7% compare
  2. 23 Chile 97.4% compare
  3. 24 Macau, China 97.3% compare
  4. 25 Colombia 96.3% compare
  5. 26 Bahrain 96.2% compare
  6. 27 Palestine, State of 96.0% compare
  7. 28 Malaysia 96.0% compare

See the full ranking of 122 places →

More reference data data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) →

Frequently asked questions

What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) was 69.0% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
The highest recorded value was 69.0% in 2019.
What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
The lowest recorded value was 16.8% in 1971.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) ranks 25th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/literacy-rate-population-25-64-years-female-percent/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan-ida-and-ibrd/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/literacy-rate-population-25-64-years-female-percent/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan-ida-and-ibrd/">Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)</a> — Statizoid

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.