Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa
UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa: Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male was 89.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa, 1975–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa is 89.3%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa peaked at 89.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 60.0%, in 1975.
UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa ranks 88th of 203 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 60.0% | — |
| 1976 | 60.5% | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 60.9% | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 61.5% | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 62.0% | +0.9% |
| 1980 | 62.6% | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 63.2% | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 64.0% | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 64.4% | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 65.1% | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 65.8% | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 66.6% | +1.1% |
| 1987 | 67.3% | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 68.2% | +1.3% |
| 1989 | 69.0% | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 71.0% | +2.9% |
| 1991 | 71.9% | +1.2% |
| 1992 | 72.6% | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 73.6% | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 74.3% | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 75.2% | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 76.0% | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 76.8% | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 77.7% | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 78.5% | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 79.2% | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 80.0% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 80.8% | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 83.5% | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 84.1% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 84.5% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 82.8% | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 83.6% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 84.7% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 85.6% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 86.0% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 86.4% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 87.3% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 87.9% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 87.9% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 88.5% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 87.1% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 87.5% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 87.7% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 87.9% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 88.2% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 88.5% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 88.8% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 89.1% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 89.3% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 61.0% | 60.0% | 62.0% | 5 |
| 1980s | 65.6% | 62.6% | 69.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 74.8% | 71.0% | 78.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.9% | 79.2% | 85.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 87.4% | 86.0% | 88.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.8% | 88.2% | 89.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa
More education data for UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 6.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 21.65 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 2.17 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 23.21 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.71 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6.49 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual -0.5257 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 17.53 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 8.61 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 6.11 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
- Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa was 89.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 89.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male recorded in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.0% in 1975.
- How does UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa rank for adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male?
- UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa ranks 88th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, male rising or falling in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa 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