Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in SDG: Eastern Asia
SDG: Eastern Asia: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes was 89.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
89.0%
Change on year
up 0.7%
Rank
30th
of 201 groups
All-time high
89.0%
in 2024
All-time low
30.1%
in 1976
Years of data
49
1976–2024
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in SDG: Eastern Asia, 1976–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in SDG: Eastern Asia stood at 89.0%. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 13.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in SDG: Eastern Asia peaked at 89.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 30.1%, in 1976.
SDG: Eastern Asia ranks 30th of 201 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in SDG: Eastern Asia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 30.1% | — |
| 1977 | 30.2% | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 30.2% | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 30.3% | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 30.4% | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 30.6% | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 30.8% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 30.9% | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 31.1% | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 31.2% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 31.3% | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 32.0% | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 40.8% | +27.6% |
| 1989 | 41.0% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 41.1% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 41.1% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 41.2% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 41.4% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 41.5% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 41.6% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 41.8% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 58.5% | +39.8% |
| 1998 | 58.6% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 58.6% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 58.7% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 58.8% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 59.0% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 59.4% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 59.6% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 59.9% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 61.5% | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 69.2% | +12.4% |
| 2008 | 70.4% | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 71.8% | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 73.0% | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 74.4% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 75.8% | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 76.8% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 78.4% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 79.6% | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 81.0% | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 83.5% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 84.5% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 85.4% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 86.2% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 87.0% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 87.7% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 88.4% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 89.0% | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 30.2% | 30.1% | 30.3% | 4 |
| 1980s | 33.0% | 30.4% | 41.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 46.5% | 41.1% | 58.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 62.8% | 58.7% | 71.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.2% | 73.0% | 85.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 87.7% | 86.2% | 89.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: Eastern Asia
- 27 Saudi Arabia 84.6% compare
- 28 Dominican Republic 84.0% compare
- 29 Brazil 83.2% compare
- 30 Mauritius 82.3% compare
- 31 Palestine, State of 81.7% compare
- 32 Malaysia 81.7% compare
- 33 Sri Lanka 81.4% compare
More education data for SDG: Eastern Asia
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 63.20 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.91 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 33.69 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 1.56 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 34.54 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 2.06 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.4947 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 21.53 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 119.59 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.7719 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in SDG: Eastern Asia?
- Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in SDG: Eastern Asia was 89.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes recorded in SDG: Eastern Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 89.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes recorded in SDG: Eastern Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.1% in 1976.
- How does SDG: Eastern Asia rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes?
- SDG: Eastern Asia ranks 30th out of 201 groups with data for 2024.
- Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes rising or falling in SDG: Eastern Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: Eastern Asia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release