Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, female (%) by country
Percentage of the female population in rural areas 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...
What the numbers show
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, female (%) is currently reported for 34 countries. The highest value is 99.8% in Azerbaijan; the lowest is 9.3% in Mali.
The median across all reporting countries is 88.7%, and the mean is 74.1%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 11.
Over the past decade 30 countries rose and 4 fell. The largest increase was in Morocco (up 216.1%), and the largest decrease in Thailand (down 8.5%).
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, rural, female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azerbaijan | 99.8% | 2017 | down 0.2% | flat |
| 2 | Moldova | 99.7% | 2014 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 3 | Spain | 99.2% | 2018 | up 0.6% | flat |
| 4 | Uruguay | 98.9% | 2018 | up 0.6% | flat |
| 5 | Greece | 98.3% | 2011 | up 3.1% | rising |
| 6 | Kuwait | 94.9% | 2018 | up 3.2% | flat |
| 7 | Chile | 94.4% | 2017 | down 0.5% | flat |
| 8 | Palestine | 94.4% | 2018 | up 7.7% | rising |
| 9 | Indonesia | 93.0% | 2018 | up 6.2% | rising |
| 10 | Malaysia | 92.3% | 2018 | up 5.6% | rising |
| 11 | Sri Lanka | 92.1% | 2018 | up 3.1% | rising |
| 12 | Paraguay | 91.3% | 2018 | up 5.8% | flat |
| 13 | Turkey | 91.3% | 2015 | up 22.7% | rising |
| 14 | Colombia | 90.2% | 2018 | up 5.4% | rising |
| 15 | Mexico | 90.0% | 2018 | up 12.0% | rising |
| 16 | Ecuador | 90.0% | 2017 | up 7.7% | rising |
| 17 | Dominican Republic | 88.8% | 2016 | up 11.3% | rising |
| 18 | Thailand | 88.7% | 2018 | down 8.5% | flat |
| 19 | Brazil | 85.9% | 2018 | up 10.1% | rising |
| 20 | Honduras | 79.0% | 2018 | up 8.2% | rising |
| 22 | El Salvador | 77.6% | 2017 | up 22.5% | rising |
| 23 | Peru | 77.0% | 2018 | up 16.5% | rising |
| 24 | Bolivia | 76.3% | 2015 | up 10.0% | rising |
| 25 | Iran | 67.0% | 2016 | up 26.0% | rising |
| 26 | Cambodia | 66.6% | 2015 | up 12.7% | rising |
| 27 | Bangladesh | 59.8% | 2019 | up 52.4% | rising |
| 28 | Guatemala | 55.8% | 2014 | up 41.2% | rising |
| 29 | Egypt | 49.0% | 2017 | up 15.9% | rising |
| 30 | Uganda | 45.1% | 2012 | down 4.1% | rising |
| 31 | Morocco | 31.0% | 2012 | up 216.1% | volatile |
| 32 | Pakistan | 22.9% | 2017 | up 33.6% | rising |
| 33 | Senegal | 21.1% | 2017 | up 63.6% | rising |
| 34 | Burkina Faso | 9.7% | 2014 | up 109.8% | volatile |
| 35 | Mali | 9.3% | 2018 | up 76.8% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- South Africa 77.6%
About this data
Percentage of the female population in rural areas 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. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/