Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in SDG: Southern Asia
SDG: Southern Asia: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity was 0.83 GPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
0.83 GPIA
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
154th
of 203 groups
All-time high
0.83 GPIA
in 2023
All-time low
0.43 GPIA
in 1975
Years of data
50
1975–2024
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in SDG: Southern Asia, 1975–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
SDG: Southern Asia recorded 0.83 GPIA for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in 2024. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in SDG: Southern Asia peaked at 0.83 GPIA in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.43 GPIA, in 1975.
SDG: Southern Asia ranks 154th of 203 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in SDG: Southern Asia, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 0.43 GPIA | — |
| 1976 | 0.43 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.44 GPIA | +2.3% |
| 1978 | 0.45 GPIA | +2.3% |
| 1979 | 0.46 GPIA | +2.2% |
| 1980 | 0.47 GPIA | +2.2% |
| 1981 | 0.48 GPIA | +2.1% |
| 1982 | 0.49 GPIA | +2.1% |
| 1983 | 0.5 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 1984 | 0.51 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 1985 | 0.52 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 1986 | 0.53 GPIA | +1.9% |
| 1987 | 0.54 GPIA | +1.9% |
| 1988 | 0.53 GPIA | -1.9% |
| 1989 | 0.54 GPIA | +1.9% |
| 1990 | 0.55 GPIA | +1.9% |
| 1991 | 0.56 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 0.57 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 0.57 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.58 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 0.59 GPIA | +1.7% |
| 1996 | 0.61 GPIA | +3.4% |
| 1997 | 0.62 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 0.64 GPIA | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 0.65 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 0.66 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 0.67 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 0.68 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 0.68 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.69 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 0.68 GPIA | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 0.68 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.69 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 0.71 GPIA | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 0.71 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.75 GPIA | +5.6% |
| 2011 | 0.75 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.76 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 0.76 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.77 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 0.78 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 0.79 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 0.79 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.8 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 0.8 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.81 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 0.82 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 0.82 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.83 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 0.83 GPIA | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.442 GPIA | 0.43 GPIA | 0.46 GPIA | 5 |
| 1980s | 0.511 GPIA | 0.47 GPIA | 0.54 GPIA | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.594 GPIA | 0.55 GPIA | 0.65 GPIA | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.685 GPIA | 0.66 GPIA | 0.71 GPIA | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.775 GPIA | 0.75 GPIA | 0.8 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.822 GPIA | 0.81 GPIA | 0.83 GPIA | 5 |
More education data for SDG: Southern Asia
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 7.57 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -0.56 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6.70 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 2.81 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 88.16 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.205 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 94.56 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate -1.26 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 54.48 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 28.18 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in SDG: Southern Asia?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity in SDG: Southern Asia was 0.83 GPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in SDG: Southern Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.83 GPIA in 2023.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity recorded in SDG: Southern Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.43 GPIA in 1975.
- How does SDG: Southern Asia rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity?
- SDG: Southern Asia ranks 154th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity rising or falling in SDG: Southern Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: Southern Asia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release