Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501)
ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501): Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female was 68.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501), 1979–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501) recorded 68.7% for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in 2024. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501) peaked at 68.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 25.7%, in 1979.
ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501) ranks 124th of 203 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 25.7% | — |
| 1980 | 26.2% | +1.7% |
| 1981 | 26.7% | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 27.5% | +3.0% |
| 1983 | 27.7% | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 28.4% | +2.2% |
| 1985 | 29.0% | +2.2% |
| 1986 | 29.6% | +2.2% |
| 1987 | 30.4% | +2.6% |
| 1988 | 31.4% | +3.4% |
| 1989 | 32.5% | +3.4% |
| 1990 | 33.6% | +3.4% |
| 1991 | 34.5% | +2.7% |
| 1992 | 35.7% | +3.5% |
| 1993 | 36.8% | +3.0% |
| 1994 | 37.9% | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 39.0% | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 40.3% | +3.5% |
| 1997 | 41.8% | +3.5% |
| 1998 | 43.2% | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 44.6% | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 46.0% | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 47.5% | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 49.0% | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 52.4% | +7.0% |
| 2004 | 53.7% | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 54.8% | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 53.3% | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 54.1% | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 55.5% | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 57.0% | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 58.1% | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 61.2% | +5.4% |
| 2012 | 62.2% | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 63.6% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 63.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 64.8% | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 64.1% | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 64.9% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 65.5% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 66.0% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 66.6% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 67.0% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 67.6% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 68.2% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 68.7% | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 25.7% | 25.7% | 25.7% | 1 |
| 1980s | 28.9% | 26.2% | 32.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 38.7% | 33.6% | 44.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 52.3% | 46.0% | 57.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 63.4% | 58.1% | 66.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 67.6% | 66.6% | 68.7% | 5 |
More education data for ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501)
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general 90.9% (2024)
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general 89.2% (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female 19.75 million (2024)
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational 9.1% (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male 21.05 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes 6.33 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes 2.58 million (2024)
- School age population, upper secondary education, female 13.47 million (2024)
- School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes 27.50 million (2024)
- School age population, upper secondary education, male 14.03 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501)?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501) was 68.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501)?
- The highest recorded value was 68.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501)?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.7% in 1979.
- How does ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501) rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female?
- ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501) ranks 124th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female rising or falling in ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this ESCWA: Arab Countries (unsdcode:98501) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release