Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420)

ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420): Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female was 34.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
34.0%
Change on year
up 1.3%
Rank
124th
of 201 groups
All-time high
34.0%
in 2024
All-time low
8.4%
in 1979
Years of data
50
1975–2024

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420), 1975–2024

102030197519992024

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420) stood at 34.0%. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 20.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420) peaked at 34.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.4%, in 1979.

That places ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420) 124th out of 201 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.

Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420), year by year

Annual values for Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%) in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420), 1975 to 2024.
Year % Change
1975 8.8%
1976 8.8% +0.2%
1977 8.8% +0.3%
1978 8.9% +0.3%
1979 8.4% -5.2%
1980 8.4% +0.0%
1981 8.5% +0.8%
1982 8.6% +0.9%
1983 8.7% +1.6%
1984 8.9% +2.9%
1985 8.9% +0.1%
1986 9.0% +0.7%
1987 9.7% +7.4%
1988 12.4% +27.8%
1989 12.8% +3.1%
1990 13.0% +2.2%
1991 13.2% +1.5%
1992 13.4% +1.2%
1993 13.5% +1.2%
1994 13.6% +0.7%
1995 13.8% +0.8%
1996 14.0% +1.6%
1997 14.3% +2.4%
1998 19.2% +34.3%
1999 19.4% +1.0%
2000 20.1% +3.2%
2001 20.2% +0.6%
2002 20.2% +0.3%
2003 20.3% +0.1%
2004 20.3% +0.1%
2005 19.1% -5.8%
2006 18.3% -4.2%
2007 18.8% +2.5%
2008 19.1% +1.5%
2009 19.7% +3.2%
2010 26.0% +32.0%
2011 26.7% +3.0%
2012 26.7% -0.2%
2013 27.3% +2.5%
2014 28.1% +2.7%
2015 28.7% +2.2%
2016 29.9% +4.0%
2017 30.6% +2.4%
2018 31.5% +2.9%
2019 30.4% -3.2%
2020 31.1% +2.2%
2021 32.0% +2.8%
2022 33.0% +3.2%
2023 33.5% +1.5%
2024 34.0% +1.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 8.7% 8.4% 8.9% 5
1980s 9.6% 8.4% 12.8% 10
1990s 14.7% 13.0% 19.4% 10
2000s 19.6% 18.3% 20.3% 10
2010s 28.6% 26.0% 31.5% 10
2020s 32.7% 31.1% 34.0% 5

More education data for ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420)

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Frequently asked questions

What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420)?
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420) was 34.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420)?
The highest recorded value was 34.0% in 2024.
What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420)?
The lowest recorded value was 8.4% in 1979.
How does ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420) rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female?
ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420) ranks 124th out of 201 groups with data for 2024.
Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female rising or falling in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420)?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420) data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in ESCAP: South and South-west Asia (sswa) (unsdcode:98420). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/elderly-literacy-rate-population-65-years-female-percent-2/escap-south-and-south-west-asia-sswa-unsdcode-98420/

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About this data

Indicator
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
291 places, 9,562 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release