Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male (%) by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
87
Highest
100.0%
Montenegro
Lowest
11.7%
Sierra Leone
Median
81.8%
Years covered
55
1970–2024
Data points
9,575
What the numbers show
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male (%) is currently reported for 87 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Montenegro; the lowest is 11.7% in Sierra Leone.
The median across all reporting countries is 81.8%, and the mean is 72.9%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 9.
Over the past decade 72 countries rose and 13 fell. The largest increase was in Chad (up 282.4%), and the largest decrease in Sierra Leone (down 48.1%).
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, male: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montenegro | 100.0% | 2018 | up 1.2% | rising |
| 1 | Tajikistan | 100.0% | 2009 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 100.0% | 2022 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 4 | Armenia | 100.0% | 2023 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 5 | Tonga | 99.9% | 2023 | up 1.0% | falling |
| 6 | Georgia | 99.8% | 2024 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 7 | Azerbaijan | 99.7% | 2023 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 8 | Spain | 99.6% | 2021 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 9 | Serbia | 99.6% | 2022 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 10 | Mongolia | 99.3% | 2024 | up 2.0% | flat |
| 11 | Uruguay | 97.9% | 2024 | up 2.1% | rising |
| 12 | Qatar | 97.8% | 2024 | up 10.4% | rising |
| 13 | Albania | 96.8% | 2023 | up 5.2% | flat |
| 14 | Türkiye | 96.0% | 2021 | up 10.2% | rising |
| 15 | Philippines | 95.9% | 2020 | up 3.9% | rising |
| 16 | Singapore | 95.4% | 2020 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 17 | Maldives | 95.2% | 2019 | up 3.0% | rising |
| 18 | Palestine, State of | 94.9% | 2024 | up 16.5% | rising |
| 19 | Viet Nam | 94.9% | 2022 | up 4.1% | rising |
| 20 | Bahrain | 94.4% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 21 | United Arab Emirates | 94.0% | 2024 | up 0.4% | rising |
| 22 | China | 93.7% | 2020 | up 8.9% | rising |
| 23 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 93.3% | 2024 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 24 | Chile | 92.4% | 2022 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 25 | Saudi Arabia | 91.9% | 2024 | up 41.4% | rising |
| 26 | Mauritius | 91.7% | 2023 | up 17.0% | rising |
| 27 | Samoa | 91.7% | 2019 | down 4.8% | flat |
| 28 | Peru | 91.5% | 2024 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 29 | Macau, China | 91.3% | 2016 | up 13.1% | rising |
| 30 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 91.1% | 2017 | up 13.4% | rising |
| 31 | Panama | 91.0% | 2024 | up 8.8% | rising |
| 32 | Kuwait | 90.6% | 2020 | up 14.9% | rising |
| 33 | Jordan | 90.3% | 2024 | down 5.5% | rising |
| 34 | Malaysia | 89.0% | 2022 | up 18.9% | rising |
| 35 | Mexico | 88.3% | 2024 | up 8.2% | rising |
| 36 | Indonesia | 86.4% | 2020 | up 16.1% | rising |
| 37 | Sao Tome and Principe | 85.8% | 2019 | up 16.0% | rising |
| 38 | Sri Lanka | 85.2% | 2024 | down 2.4% | flat |
| 39 | Colombia | 84.8% | 2024 | up 5.7% | rising |
| 40 | Dominican Republic | 84.3% | 2024 | up 5.2% | rising |
| 41 | Myanmar | 84.2% | 2020 | down 5.3% | rising |
| 42 | Brazil | 83.7% | 2024 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 43 | Paraguay | 82.4% | 2024 | down 0.9% | rising |
| 44 | Ecuador | 81.8% | 2024 | down 0.5% | rising |
| 45 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 80.1% | 2023 | up 5.9% | rising |
| 46 | Thailand | 77.4% | 2022 | down 7.4% | rising |
| 47 | Zambia | 77.0% | 2024 | up 5.7% | rising |
| 48 | El Salvador | 76.3% | 2024 | up 12.8% | rising |
| 49 | Cape Verde | 72.3% | 2024 | up 25.3% | rising |
| 50 | Tunisia | 71.0% | 2023 | up 72.5% | rising |
| 51 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 70.6% | 2022 | up 19.6% | rising |
| 52 | Honduras | 69.4% | 2024 | up 11.8% | rising |
| 53 | Oman | 68.6% | 2022 | up 94.5% | rising |
| 54 | South Africa | 67.6% | 2024 | down 12.7% | rising |
| 55 | Malawi | 66.1% | 2020 | — | rising |
| 56 | Namibia | 65.7% | 2023 | up 12.2% | rising |
| 57 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 64.1% | 2023 | up 37.5% | rising |
| 58 | Uganda | 64.0% | 2024 | up 30.4% | rising |
| 59 | Nigeria | 62.1% | 2024 | up 58.6% | rising |
| 60 | Guatemala | 61.9% | 2024 | up 1.7% | rising |
| 61 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 61.9% | 2023 | down 17.1% | rising |
| 62 | Nicaragua | 61.8% | 2014 | up 23.3% | rising |
| 63 | India | 61.3% | 2024 | up 12.5% | rising |
| 64 | Cambodia | 59.9% | 2021 | down 18.2% | rising |
| 65 | Cameroon | 58.4% | 2018 | up 72.6% | rising |
| 66 | Rwanda | 58.3% | 2022 | up 40.0% | rising |
| 67 | Bangladesh | 57.7% | 2022 | up 46.1% | rising |
| 68 | Mozambique | 52.5% | 2022 | up 36.8% | rising |
| 69 | Mauritania | 52.2% | 2020 | up 8.3% | rising |
| 70 | Togo | 52.0% | 2022 | up 76.5% | rising |
| 71 | Lesotho | 52.0% | 2024 | down 44.1% | rising |
| 72 | Egypt | 51.7% | 2022 | up 25.8% | rising |
| 73 | Burundi | 49.1% | 2020 | up 86.6% | volatile |
| 74 | Senegal | 44.0% | 2023 | up 18.7% | rising |
| 75 | Pakistan | 42.7% | 2021 | up 26.6% | rising |
| 76 | Morocco | 38.8% | 2014 | up 55.5% | rising |
| 77 | Benin | 37.9% | 2022 | up 36.7% | rising |
| 78 | Nepal | 36.8% | 2019 | up 11.3% | rising |
| 79 | Guinea | 33.8% | 2018 | up 118.7% | rising |
| 80 | Côte d'Ivoire | 29.4% | 2021 | up 15.6% | rising |
| 81 | Ethiopia | 27.4% | 2022 | up 18.1% | rising |
| 82 | Niger | 26.1% | 2022 | up 31.5% | rising |
| 83 | Afghanistan | 25.4% | 2021 | up 22.7% | rising |
| 84 | Mali | 19.9% | 2024 | down 6.0% | rising |
| 85 | Burkina Faso | 19.9% | 2023 | up 37.0% | volatile |
| 86 | Chad | 18.4% | 2019 | up 282.4% | volatile |
| 87 | Sierra Leone | 11.7% | 2019 | down 48.1% | falling |
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) 99.9%
- ECE: Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (cis) (unsdcode:98202) 99.9%
- ESCAP: North and Central Asia (nca) (unsdcode:98417) 99.9%
- GPE: Europe & Central Asia Wb Fy24, December 2024 99.7%
- MDG: Caucasus and Central Asia 99.6%
- UIS: Central Asia 99.6%
- AIMS: Central Asia 99.5%
- SDG: Central Asia 99.5%
- WB: Central Europe and the Baltics 99.4%
- UIS: Central and Eastern Europe 99.2%
- WB: Europe & Central Asia (ida & Ibrd) 99.2%
- UNICEF: Central and Eastern Europe/commonwealth of Independent States 99.2%
- UNICEF: Eastern Europe and Central Asia 99.2%
- ECE: West Balkans (st7) (unsdcode:98205) 98.9%
- UNICEF: Western Balkans 98.7%
- WB: Europe & Central Asia (excluding High Income) 98.7%
- UNICEF: Europe and Central Asia Programme Countries 98.7%
- UNICEF: North America 97.6%
- ESCAP: North America (nam) (unsdcode:98425) 97.6%
- SDG: Northern America 97.6%
- WB: North America 97.6%
- SDG: Europe and Northern America 97.5%
- ECE: All Countries (unsdcode:98200) 97.5%
- MDG: Eastern Asia 95.4%
- MDG: Eastern Asia (excluding China) 95.1%
- ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) 95.1%
- UNICEF: East Asia and the Pacific Programme Countries 94.5%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific (excluding High Income) 94.5%
- ESCAP: East and North-east Asia (enea) (unsdcode:98408) 94.4%
- SDG: Eastern Asia 94.4%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific (ida & Ibrd) 94.4%
- WB: Late-demographic Dividend 94.1%
- AIMS: East Asia 93.8%
- SDG: Eastern and South-eastern Asia 93.8%
- UNICEF: East Asia and Pacific 93.5%
- AIMS: East Asia and the Pacific 93.5%
- UIS: East Asia and the Pacific 93.5%
- WB: East Asia & Pacific 93.5%
- UNICEF: Gulf Area 93.4%
About this data
February 2026 Data Release