Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female was 76.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female in Sri Lanka, 1981–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female in Sri Lanka stood at 76.4%.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and up 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female in Sri Lanka peaked at 77.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 50.0%, in 1981.
That places Sri Lanka 12th out of 55 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 50.0% | — |
| 2001 | 66.5% | +32.9% |
| 2006 | 63.0% | -5.3% |
| 2008 | 64.9% | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 68.5% | +5.5% |
| 2016 | 74.5% | +8.8% |
| 2017 | 73.9% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 72.3% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 75.2% | +3.9% |
| 2020 | 74.8% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 74.8% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 75.8% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 77.1% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 76.4% | -1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 50.0% | 50.0% | 50.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 64.8% | 63.0% | 66.5% | 3 |
| 2010s | 72.9% | 68.5% | 75.2% | 5 |
| 2020s | 75.8% | 74.8% | 77.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female in Sri Lanka?
- Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female in Sri Lanka was 76.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 77.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.0% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female?
- Sri Lanka ranks 12th out of 55 countries with data for 2024.
- Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, rural, female rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. 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, rural, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release