Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female was 15.38 million number in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
15.38 million number
Change on year
down 5.5%
Rank
29th
of 39 groups
All-time high
24.49 million number
in 1987
All-time low
15.38 million number
in 2019
Years of data
46
1974–2019
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean, 1974–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 15.38 million number for adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 46 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.5% on the previous year and down 21.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 24.49 million number in 1987 and was at its lowest, 15.38 million number, in 2019.
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 29th of 39 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 46 years of available data.
Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 22.30 million number | — |
| 1975 | 22.96 million number | +2.9% |
| 1976 | 23.20 million number | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 23.36 million number | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 23.47 million number | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 23.61 million number | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 23.66 million number | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 23.85 million number | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 23.96 million number | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 24.05 million number | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 24.13 million number | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 24.19 million number | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 24.23 million number | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 24.49 million number | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 24.30 million number | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 24.15 million number | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 24.05 million number | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 23.83 million number | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 23.41 million number | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 22.95 million number | -2.0% |
| 1994 | 22.62 million number | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 22.17 million number | -2.0% |
| 1996 | 22.06 million number | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 22.06 million number | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 21.62 million number | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 21.48 million number | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 21.37 million number | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 21.78 million number | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 21.89 million number | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 20.78 million number | -5.1% |
| 2004 | 21.17 million number | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 20.54 million number | -3.0% |
| 2006 | 21.17 million number | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 20.07 million number | -5.2% |
| 2008 | 19.92 million number | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 19.49 million number | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 19.54 million number | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 18.64 million number | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 18.23 million number | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 18.36 million number | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 17.56 million number | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 17.47 million number | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 16.62 million number | -4.9% |
| 2017 | 16.53 million number | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 16.28 million number | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 15.38 million number | -5.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 23.15 million number | 22.30 million number | 23.61 million number | 6 |
| 1980s | 24.10 million number | 23.66 million number | 24.49 million number | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.63 million number | 21.48 million number | 24.05 million number | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.82 million number | 19.49 million number | 21.89 million number | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.46 million number | 15.38 million number | 19.54 million number | 10 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More education data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3.34 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 63.30 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 61.44 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.1923 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0928 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 67.7% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 22.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female in Latin America & Caribbean was 15.38 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 24.49 million number in 1987.
- What is the lowest adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.38 million number in 2019.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 29th out of 39 groups with data for 2019.
- Is adult illiterate population, 15+ years, female rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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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About this data
Total number of females over age 15 who cannot both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on their everyday life.