Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia
SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male was 88.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia, 1977–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia stood at 88.9%. That is the highest value across all 48 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia peaked at 88.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 69.1%, in 1977.
That places SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia 90th out of 203 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 69.1% | — |
| 1978 | 69.5% | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 70.0% | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 70.4% | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 70.9% | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 71.5% | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 71.5% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 72.7% | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 73.2% | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 73.8% | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 74.3% | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 74.9% | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 75.6% | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 76.2% | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 76.8% | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 77.3% | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 77.9% | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 78.3% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 78.8% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 79.3% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 79.8% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 80.5% | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 81.0% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 81.7% | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 82.3% | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 82.9% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 85.2% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 85.6% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 86.0% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 83.5% | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 84.1% | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 84.5% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 85.3% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 85.8% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 87.0% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 87.6% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 88.2% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 88.1% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 88.7% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 87.4% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 87.7% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 87.8% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 88.0% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 88.2% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 88.3% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 88.5% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 88.7% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 88.9% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 69.5% | 69.1% | 70.0% | 3 |
| 1980s | 72.9% | 70.4% | 75.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 78.6% | 76.2% | 81.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 84.1% | 81.7% | 86.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 87.6% | 85.8% | 88.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.5% | 88.2% | 88.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia
More education data for SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 32.09 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 0.2663 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.45 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 9.09 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 61.67 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.5703 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 29.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.7875 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.19 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 26.40 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia was 88.9% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 88.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.1% in 1977.
- How does SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male?
- SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia ranks 90th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male rising or falling in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release