Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index in UNICEF: South Asia
UNICEF: South Asia: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index was 0.8 GPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
0.8 GPIA
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
145th
of 203 groups
All-time high
0.8 GPIA
in 2023
All-time low
0.36 GPIA
in 1975
Years of data
50
1975–2024
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index in UNICEF: South Asia, 1975–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
In 2024, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index in UNICEF: South Asia stood at 0.8 GPIA. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
The figure is up 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index in UNICEF: South Asia peaked at 0.8 GPIA in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.36 GPIA, in 1975.
That places UNICEF: South Asia 145th out of 203 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index in UNICEF: South Asia, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 0.36 GPIA | — |
| 1976 | 0.36 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.37 GPIA | +2.8% |
| 1978 | 0.38 GPIA | +2.7% |
| 1979 | 0.39 GPIA | +2.6% |
| 1980 | 0.4 GPIA | +2.6% |
| 1981 | 0.4 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.41 GPIA | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 0.42 GPIA | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 0.43 GPIA | +2.4% |
| 1985 | 0.44 GPIA | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 0.45 GPIA | +2.3% |
| 1987 | 0.46 GPIA | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 0.47 GPIA | +2.2% |
| 1989 | 0.48 GPIA | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 0.49 GPIA | +2.1% |
| 1991 | 0.49 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.5 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 0.5 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.51 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 0.52 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 0.52 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.53 GPIA | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 0.57 GPIA | +7.5% |
| 1999 | 0.58 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 0.59 GPIA | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 0.59 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.6 GPIA | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 0.61 GPIA | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 0.61 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.6 GPIA | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 0.6 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.61 GPIA | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 0.62 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 0.63 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 0.68 GPIA | +7.9% |
| 2011 | 0.69 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 0.69 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.7 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 0.71 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 0.72 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 0.74 GPIA | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 0.74 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.76 GPIA | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 0.76 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.77 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 0.78 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 0.79 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 0.8 GPIA | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 0.8 GPIA | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.372 GPIA | 0.36 GPIA | 0.39 GPIA | 5 |
| 1980s | 0.436 GPIA | 0.4 GPIA | 0.48 GPIA | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.521 GPIA | 0.49 GPIA | 0.58 GPIA | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.606 GPIA | 0.59 GPIA | 0.63 GPIA | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.719 GPIA | 0.68 GPIA | 0.76 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.788 GPIA | 0.77 GPIA | 0.8 GPIA | 5 |
More education data for UNICEF: South Asia
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 7.86 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -0.6662 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6.43 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 2.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 84.88 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.1267 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 91.07 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate -1.39 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 53.53 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 26.43 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index in UNICEF: South Asia?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index in UNICEF: South Asia was 0.8 GPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index recorded in UNICEF: South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.8 GPIA in 2023.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index recorded in UNICEF: South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.36 GPIA in 1975.
- How does UNICEF: South Asia rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index?
- UNICEF: South Asia ranks 145th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index rising or falling in UNICEF: South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: South Asia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release