Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female was 78.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Sri Lanka, 1981–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Sri Lanka is 78.4%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Sri Lanka peaked at 79.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 56.0%, in 1981.
Sri Lanka ranks 31st of 90 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 56.0% | — |
| 2001 | 68.8% | +22.9% |
| 2006 | 65.2% | -5.2% |
| 2008 | 66.6% | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 69.8% | +4.7% |
| 2014 | 76.3% | +9.3% |
| 2015 | 77.5% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 76.3% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 75.4% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 74.4% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 77.6% | +4.3% |
| 2020 | 76.7% | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 76.9% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 77.8% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 79.3% | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 78.4% | -1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 56.0% | 56.0% | 56.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 66.9% | 65.2% | 68.8% | 3 |
| 2010s | 75.3% | 69.8% | 77.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 77.8% | 76.7% | 79.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Sri Lanka?
- Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in Sri Lanka was 78.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 79.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.0% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female?
- Sri Lanka ranks 31st out of 90 countries with data for 2024.
- Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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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CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release