Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in WB: East Asia & Pacific
WB: East Asia & Pacific: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes was 88.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in WB: East Asia & Pacific, 1976–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in WB: East Asia & Pacific is 88.0%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 12.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in WB: East Asia & Pacific peaked at 88.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 33.1%, in 1976.
That places WB: East Asia & Pacific 38th out of 201 groups with data for 2024, putting it 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 WB: East Asia & Pacific, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 33.1% | — |
| 1977 | 33.2% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 33.3% | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 33.4% | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 33.5% | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 33.8% | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 34.1% | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 34.4% | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 34.6% | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 34.9% | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 35.1% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 36.8% | +4.9% |
| 1988 | 43.9% | +19.3% |
| 1989 | 44.1% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 44.3% | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 44.3% | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 44.4% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 44.9% | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 45.1% | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 45.3% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 45.7% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 59.1% | +29.4% |
| 1998 | 59.3% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 59.2% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 58.9% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 59.2% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 59.5% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 60.3% | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 60.6% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 61.0% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 63.4% | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 69.8% | +10.0% |
| 2008 | 70.0% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 71.9% | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 73.0% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 74.4% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 75.7% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 76.2% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 78.0% | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 78.8% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 80.2% | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 82.4% | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 83.4% | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 84.2% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 85.2% | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 86.0% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 86.7% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 87.4% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 88.0% | +0.7% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in WB: East Asia & Pacific changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +29.4% | 45.7% | 59.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 33.3% | 33.1% | 33.4% | 4 |
| 1980s | 36.5% | 33.5% | 44.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 49.2% | 44.3% | 59.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 63.5% | 58.9% | 71.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.6% | 73.0% | 84.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.6% | 85.2% | 88.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near WB: East Asia & Pacific
More education data for WB: East Asia & Pacific
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 1.4 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 82.79 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.02 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 91.26 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.55 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 61.72 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 2.09 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 45.77 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 8.16 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 93.00 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in WB: East Asia & Pacific?
- Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes in WB: East Asia & Pacific was 88.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes recorded in WB: East Asia & Pacific?
- The highest recorded value was 88.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes recorded in WB: East Asia & Pacific?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.1% in 1976.
- How does WB: East Asia & Pacific rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes?
- WB: East Asia & Pacific ranks 38th out of 201 groups with data for 2024.
- Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, both sexes rising or falling in WB: East Asia & Pacific?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this WB: East Asia & Pacific 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