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

Arab World: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male was 80.2% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
80.2%
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
27th
of 38 groups
All-time high
81.1%
in 2015
All-time low
53.9%
in 1977
Years of data
43
1977–2019

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

0204060801977199820191977: 53.9 %1978: 54.3 %1979: 54.6 %1980: 55.1 %1981: 55.6 %1982: 56.4 %1983: 55.8 %1984: 56.5 %1985: 57.4 %1986: 58.1 %1987: 58.8 %1988: 59.7 %1989: 60.6 %1990: 61.5 %1991: 62.6 %1992: 63.5 %1993: 65.3 %1994: 66.1 %1995: 67.1 %1996: 68.1 %1997: 69.1 %1998: 70.4 %1999: 71.5 %2000: 72.3 %2001: 73.6 %2002: 74.8 %2003: 77.6 %2004: 78.4 %2005: 77.5 %2006: 75.6 %2007: 76.3 %2008: 77.1 %2009: 76.2 %2010: 76.8 %2011: 78.4 %2012: 79.8 %2013: 80.2 %2014: 80.5 %2015: 81.1 %2016: 79.3 %2017: 79.6 %2018: 80 %2019: 80.2 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Arab World stood at 80.2%.

That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 5.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Arab World peaked at 81.1% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 53.9%, in 1977.

That places Arab World 27th out of 38 groups with data for 2019, putting it 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 54.3% 53.9% 54.6% 3
1980s 57.4% 55.1% 60.6% 10
1990s 66.5% 61.5% 71.5% 10
2000s 76.0% 72.3% 78.4% 10
2010s 79.6% 76.8% 81.1% 10

Countries ranked near Arab World

  1. 24 Maldives 97.6% compare
  2. 25 Saudi Arabia 97.6% compare
  3. 26 Venezuela, República Bolivariana de 97.4% compare
  4. 27 Oman 97.4% compare
  5. 28 Bolivia 97.4% compare
  6. 29 Peru 97.3% compare
  7. 30 Malaysia 97.2% 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, male in Arab World?
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Arab World was 80.2% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in Arab World?
The highest recorded value was 81.1% in 2015.
What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male recorded in Arab World?
The lowest recorded value was 53.9% in 1977.
How does Arab World rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male?
Arab World ranks 27th out of 38 groups with data for 2019.
Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male rising or falling in Arab World?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.2%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male in Arab World. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/literacy-rate-population-25-64-years-male-percent/arab-world/

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About this data

Indicator
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 2,219 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Percentage of the male 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 male literates aged 25-64 years by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.