Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan

WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan: Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female was 85.42 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
85.42 million
Change on year
up 0.2%
Rank
60th
of 203 groups
All-time high
85.42 million
in 2024
All-time low
67.55 million
in 1990
Years of data
36
1989–2024

Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, 1989–2024

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M1989200620241989: 69.8M1990: 67.6M1991: 68.2M1992: 68.9M1993: 70.2M1994: 71.0M1995: 71.3M1996: 71.9M1997: 72.5M1998: 73.1M1999: 73.8M2000: 74.4M2001: 74.8M2002: 75.2M2003: 75.3M2004: 75.9M2005: 76.5M2006: 78.6M2007: 79.2M2008: 78.1M2009: 78.7M2010: 79.5M2011: 80.2M2012: 80.4M2013: 81.1M2014: 81.3M2015: 80.7M2016: 82.4M2017: 83.2M2018: 84.3M2019: 84.7M2020: 85.0M2021: 85.1M2022: 85.1M2023: 85.3M2024: 85.4M

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

The most recent figure for adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan is 85.42 million, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan peaked at 85.42 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 67.55 million, in 1990.

WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan ranks 60th of 203 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.

Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, year by year

Annual values for Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female (number) in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, 1989 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1989 69.82 million
1990 67.55 million -3.2%
1991 68.16 million +0.9%
1992 68.89 million +1.1%
1993 70.22 million +1.9%
1994 71.03 million +1.1%
1995 71.26 million +0.3%
1996 71.89 million +0.9%
1997 72.52 million +0.9%
1998 73.13 million +0.8%
1999 73.75 million +0.9%
2000 74.38 million +0.8%
2001 74.76 million +0.5%
2002 75.25 million +0.7%
2003 75.34 million +0.1%
2004 75.88 million +0.7%
2005 76.52 million +0.8%
2006 78.62 million +2.7%
2007 79.17 million +0.7%
2008 78.06 million -1.4%
2009 78.68 million +0.8%
2010 79.46 million +1.0%
2011 80.16 million +0.9%
2012 80.39 million +0.3%
2013 81.06 million +0.8%
2014 81.29 million +0.3%
2015 80.66 million -0.8%
2016 82.38 million +2.1%
2017 83.25 million +1.1%
2018 84.27 million +1.2%
2019 84.75 million +0.6%
2020 84.99 million +0.3%
2021 85.14 million +0.2%
2022 85.14 million +0.0%
2023 85.25 million +0.1%
2024 85.42 million +0.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 69.82 million 69.82 million 69.82 million 1
1990s 70.84 million 67.55 million 73.75 million 10
2000s 76.67 million 74.38 million 79.17 million 10
2010s 81.77 million 79.46 million 84.75 million 10
2020s 85.19 million 84.99 million 85.42 million 5

Countries ranked near WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan

  1. 57 Qatar 2,726 compare
  2. 58 Maldives 2,464 compare
  3. 59 Uzbekistan 2 compare

See the full ranking of 262 places →

More education data for WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan

All data for WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan?
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan was 85.42 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female recorded in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 85.42 million in 2024.
What is the lowest adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female recorded in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 67.55 million in 1990.
How does WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan rank for adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female?
WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan ranks 60th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
Is adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female rising or falling in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in WB: Middle East & North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/adult-illiterate-population-15-years-female-number-2/wb-middle-east-and-north-africa-afghanistan-pakistan/

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About this data

Indicator
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female (number)
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
262 places, 6,969 data points, 1989–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release