Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa
UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female was 35.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa, 1974–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa is 35.2%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
The figure is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 36.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa peaked at 35.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 9.6%, in 1974.
UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa ranks 122nd of 201 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 9.6% | — |
| 1975 | 9.6% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 9.6% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 9.7% | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 9.8% | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 9.9% | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 10.0% | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 10.2% | +1.1% |
| 1982 | 10.3% | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 11.6% | +12.7% |
| 1984 | 11.6% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 11.6% | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 11.6% | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 11.8% | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 11.9% | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 12.0% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 12.8% | +6.8% |
| 1991 | 12.8% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 12.8% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 12.2% | -3.9% |
| 1994 | 12.2% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 11.9% | -2.5% |
| 1996 | 12.0% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 12.1% | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 12.5% | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 12.7% | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 12.9% | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 13.3% | +3.3% |
| 2002 | 13.7% | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 17.3% | +26.0% |
| 2004 | 17.4% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 17.4% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 15.7% | -9.7% |
| 2007 | 16.2% | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 17.0% | +4.5% |
| 2009 | 19.9% | +17.4% |
| 2010 | 20.6% | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 21.8% | +5.5% |
| 2012 | 23.9% | +9.7% |
| 2013 | 25.0% | +4.7% |
| 2014 | 25.7% | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 27.1% | +5.4% |
| 2016 | 26.7% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 28.0% | +4.7% |
| 2018 | 28.8% | +3.1% |
| 2019 | 29.8% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 30.9% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 31.9% | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 33.1% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 34.2% | +3.1% |
| 2024 | 35.2% | +2.9% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | +26.0% | 13.7% | 17.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.7% | 9.6% | 9.9% | 6 |
| 1980s | 11.2% | 10.0% | 12.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.4% | 11.9% | 12.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.1% | 12.9% | 19.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.7% | 20.6% | 29.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.1% | 30.9% | 35.2% | 5 |
More education data for UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 6.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 21.65 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 2.17 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 23.21 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.71 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6.49 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual -0.5257 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 17.53 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 8.61 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 6.11 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
- Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa was 35.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 35.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female recorded in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.6% in 1974.
- How does UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female?
- UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa ranks 122nd out of 201 groups with data for 2024.
- Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, female rising or falling in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa 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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About this data
February 2026 Data Release