Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes was 89.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes in Sri Lanka, 1981–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 89.5% for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.1% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes in Sri Lanka peaked at 91.6% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 82.4%, in 1981.
Sri Lanka ranks 16th of 57 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 82.4% | — |
| 2001 | 86.5% | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 86.1% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 84.2% | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 84.7% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 88.0% | +3.9% |
| 2017 | 86.7% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 87.5% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 91.6% | +4.7% |
| 2020 | 88.6% | -3.3% |
| 2021 | 89.5% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 89.3% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 90.5% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 89.5% | -1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 82.4% | 82.4% | 82.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 85.6% | 84.2% | 86.5% | 3 |
| 2010s | 87.7% | 84.7% | 91.6% | 5 |
| 2020s | 89.5% | 88.6% | 90.5% | 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, urban, both sexes in Sri Lanka?
- Elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes in Sri Lanka was 89.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 91.6% in 2019.
- What is the lowest elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 82.4% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes?
- Sri Lanka ranks 16th out of 57 countries with data for 2024.
- Is elderly literacy rate, population 65+ years, urban, both sexes rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. 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, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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