Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%) by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
90
Highest
100.0%
Uzbekistan
Lowest
0.8%
Sierra Leone
Median
63.9%
Years covered
55
1970–2024
Data points
9,562
What the numbers show
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%) is currently reported for 90 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Uzbekistan; the lowest is 0.8% in Sierra Leone.
The median across all reporting countries is 63.9%, and the mean is 55.1%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 123.
Over the past decade 69 countries rose and 18 fell. The largest increase was in Cameroon (up 475.9%), and the largest decrease in Sierra Leone (down 85.3%).
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% | 2022 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 2 | Armenia | 99.9% | 2023 | up 1.3% | rising |
| 3 | Georgia | 99.3% | 2024 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 4 | Tonga | 99.2% | 2023 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 5 | Azerbaijan | 98.9% | 2023 | up 0.8% | rising |
| 6 | Mongolia | 98.8% | 2024 | up 6.5% | rising |
| 7 | Spain | 98.7% | 2021 | up 8.9% | rising |
| 8 | Uruguay | 98.6% | 2024 | up 1.4% | rising |
| 9 | Serbia | 98.0% | 2022 | up 10.5% | rising |
| 10 | Montenegro | 97.1% | 2018 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 11 | Albania | 92.5% | 2023 | up 10.3% | rising |
| 12 | Maldives | 92.0% | 2019 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 13 | Chile | 91.3% | 2022 | up 3.4% | rising |
| 14 | Lesotho | 90.9% | 2024 | down 3.6% | rising |
| 15 | Tajikistan | 90.4% | 2023 | down 1.8% | rising |
| 16 | Philippines | 89.6% | 2022 | down 0.3% | rising |
| 17 | Panama | 89.4% | 2024 | up 9.9% | rising |
| 18 | Samoa | 89.0% | 2019 | down 7.6% | flat |
| 19 | Qatar | 88.6% | 2024 | up 49.1% | rising |
| 20 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 86.5% | 2017 | up 17.6% | rising |
| 21 | Viet Nam | 85.9% | 2022 | up 27.3% | rising |
| 22 | Colombia | 85.2% | 2024 | up 7.1% | rising |
| 23 | Dominican Republic | 83.9% | 2024 | up 8.1% | rising |
| 24 | Brazil | 82.8% | 2024 | up 13.7% | rising |
| 25 | Mexico | 82.4% | 2024 | up 11.2% | rising |
| 26 | Singapore | 82.0% | 2020 | up 28.7% | rising |
| 27 | United Arab Emirates | 81.6% | 2024 | up 5.0% | volatile |
| 28 | China | 81.2% | 2020 | up 29.6% | volatile |
| 29 | Saudi Arabia | 80.9% | 2024 | up 121.0% | volatile |
| 30 | Thailand | 80.3% | 2022 | up 10.6% | rising |
| 31 | Sri Lanka | 78.4% | 2024 | up 2.7% | rising |
| 32 | Türkiye | 78.3% | 2021 | up 35.0% | rising |
| 33 | Paraguay | 76.0% | 2024 | down 1.1% | rising |
| 34 | Malaysia | 75.3% | 2022 | up 71.2% | rising |
| 35 | Mauritius | 75.1% | 2023 | up 37.2% | rising |
| 36 | Ecuador | 74.4% | 2024 | up 3.0% | rising |
| 37 | Bahrain | 74.4% | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 38 | Macau, China | 72.1% | 2016 | up 62.6% | rising |
| 39 | Peru | 70.7% | 2024 | up 12.3% | rising |
| 40 | Indonesia | 70.5% | 2020 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 41 | Palestine, State of | 70.2% | 2024 | up 87.8% | rising |
| 42 | Honduras | 68.5% | 2024 | up 20.4% | rising |
| 43 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 68.3% | 2024 | up 35.5% | rising |
| 44 | El Salvador | 65.8% | 2024 | up 13.1% | rising |
| 45 | Myanmar | 65.2% | 2019 | down 6.2% | rising |
| 46 | Jordan | 62.7% | 2024 | down 21.7% | volatile |
| 47 | Kuwait | 60.1% | 2020 | up 49.1% | rising |
| 48 | Nicaragua | 59.7% | 2014 | up 23.2% | rising |
| 49 | South Africa | 58.3% | 2024 | down 13.3% | rising |
| 50 | Namibia | 54.9% | 2023 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 51 | Oman | 49.1% | 2022 | up 370.0% | volatile |
| 52 | Guatemala | 45.5% | 2024 | up 11.9% | rising |
| 53 | Sao Tome and Principe | 43.3% | 2019 | up 42.6% | volatile |
| 54 | Cameroon | 43.1% | 2018 | up 475.9% | volatile |
| 55 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 40.3% | 2022 | up 35.3% | rising |
| 56 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 37.1% | 2023 | up 65.2% | rising |
| 57 | Tunisia | 35.1% | 2023 | up 219.5% | volatile |
| 58 | Uganda | 34.2% | 2024 | up 99.0% | rising |
| 59 | Cape Verde | 33.8% | 2024 | up 48.8% | rising |
| 60 | India | 31.4% | 2024 | up 38.4% | rising |
| 61 | Rwanda | 31.3% | 2022 | up 137.0% | volatile |
| 62 | Bangladesh | 31.2% | 2022 | up 121.3% | rising |
| 63 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 30.4% | 2023 | up 46.1% | rising |
| 64 | Nigeria | 30.2% | 2024 | up 78.1% | rising |
| 65 | Ghana | 28.8% | 2021 | up 22.8% | flat |
| 66 | Zambia | 28.1% | 2024 | down 39.8% | rising |
| 67 | Egypt | 23.5% | 2022 | down 17.5% | rising |
| 68 | Burundi | 22.9% | 2020 | up 74.5% | volatile |
| 69 | Togo | 22.1% | 2022 | up 140.6% | rising |
| 70 | Mauritania | 19.8% | 2020 | down 38.1% | falling |
| 71 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 18.8% | 2023 | down 57.9% | volatile |
| 72 | Côte d'Ivoire | 18.7% | 2022 | up 79.4% | volatile |
| 73 | Algeria | 16.8% | 2019 | up 84.0% | volatile |
| 74 | Malawi | 15.9% | 2020 | — | rising |
| 75 | Cambodia | 15.0% | 2021 | down 45.4% | volatile |
| 76 | Mozambique | 14.4% | 2022 | up 123.9% | volatile |
| 77 | Benin | 14.3% | 2022 | up 98.2% | volatile |
| 78 | Pakistan | 13.8% | 2021 | up 39.3% | rising |
| 79 | Senegal | 11.0% | 2023 | up 54.6% | rising |
| 80 | Morocco | 10.2% | 2014 | up 202.4% | volatile |
| 81 | Burkina Faso | 10.1% | 2023 | up 383.2% | volatile |
| 82 | Guinea | 9.6% | 2018 | up 312.1% | volatile |
| 83 | Ethiopia | 8.1% | 2022 | up 91.1% | rising |
| 84 | Mali | 5.8% | 2024 | up 116.9% | volatile |
| 85 | Nepal | 5.7% | 2019 | up 95.1% | rising |
| 86 | Niger | 5.1% | 2022 | down 35.9% | volatile |
| 87 | Gambia | 4.0% | 2023 | down 54.0% | falling |
| 88 | Chad | 1.7% | 2019 | — | volatile |
| 89 | Afghanistan | 1.3% | 2022 | down 36.3% | rising |
| 90 | Sierra Leone | 0.8% | 2019 | down 85.3% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- ECE: Eurasian Economic Union (eaeu) (unsdcode:98206) 99.9%
- ECE: Cis (cwg) (unsdcode:98201) 99.8%
- ECE: Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (cis) (unsdcode:98202) 99.8%
- ESCAP: North and Central Asia (nca) (unsdcode:98417) 99.8%
- GPE: Europe & Central Asia Wb Fy24, December 2024 99.4%
- WB: Central Europe and the Baltics 99.0%
- MDG: Caucasus and Central Asia 98.9%
- UIS: Central Asia 98.9%
- AIMS: Central Asia 98.8%
- SDG: Central Asia 98.8%
- UNICEF: North America 97.4%
- ESCAP: North America (nam) (unsdcode:98425) 97.4%
- SDG: Northern America 97.4%
- WB: North America 97.4%
- UIS: Central and Eastern Europe 97.3%
- WB: Europe & Central Asia (ida & Ibrd) 97.3%
- UNICEF: Central and Eastern Europe/commonwealth of Independent States 97.0%
- UNICEF: Eastern Europe and Central Asia 97.0%
- SDG: Europe and Northern America 96.6%
- ECE: All Countries (unsdcode:98200) 96.0%
- SDG: Europe, Northern America, Australia and New Zealand 96.0%
- ECE: West Balkans (st7) (unsdcode:98205) 95.0%
- UNICEF: Europe and Central Asia Programme Countries 94.6%
- UNICEF: Western Balkans 94.0%
- WB: Europe & Central Asia (excluding High Income) 93.8%
- MDG: Eastern Asia (excluding China) 91.9%
- WB: Late-demographic Dividend 86.7%
- ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) 85.9%
- MDG: Eastern Asia 85.8%
- ECLAC: Carribean (unsdcode:98301) 85.3%
- ESCAP: East and North-east Asia (enea) (unsdcode:98408) 84.6%
- SDG: Eastern Asia 84.6%
- UNICEF: East Asia and the Pacific Programme Countries 84.4%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific (excluding High Income) 84.4%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific (ida & Ibrd) 84.2%
- MDG: Latin America 84.0%
- ECLAC: All Countries (unsdcode:98300) 83.9%
- ESCAP: Latin America (lac) (unsdcode:98424) 83.9%
- MDG: Latin America and the Caribbean 83.9%
- SDG: Latin America and the Caribbean 83.9%
About this data
February 2026 Data Release