Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: World
UNICEF: World: Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female was 84.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
84.2%
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
81st
of 203 groups
All-time high
84.2%
in 2024
All-time low
55.3%
in 1976
Years of data
49
1976–2024
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: World, 1976–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
UNICEF: World recorded 84.2% for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in 2024. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: World peaked at 84.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 55.3%, in 1976.
UNICEF: World ranks 81st of 203 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: World, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 55.3% | — |
| 1977 | 55.6% | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 56.1% | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 56.7% | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 57.2% | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 57.9% | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 58.4% | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 59.1% | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 59.8% | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 60.5% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 61.0% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 61.6% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 64.1% | +4.0% |
| 1989 | 64.8% | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 65.6% | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 66.3% | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 67.0% | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 67.8% | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 68.5% | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 69.3% | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 70.0% | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 73.1% | +4.4% |
| 1998 | 74.6% | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 75.2% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 75.7% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 76.1% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 76.5% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 77.1% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 77.5% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 77.4% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 77.4% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 78.0% | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 78.5% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 78.9% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 79.9% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 80.3% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 80.5% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 80.8% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 81.3% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 81.8% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 82.3% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 82.5% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 83.0% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 82.9% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 83.2% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 83.4% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 83.7% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 84.0% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 84.2% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 55.9% | 55.3% | 56.7% | 4 |
| 1980s | 60.4% | 57.2% | 64.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 69.7% | 65.6% | 75.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.3% | 75.7% | 78.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.5% | 79.9% | 83.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.7% | 83.2% | 84.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: World
- 78 Ethiopia 37.2% compare
- 79 Côte d'Ivoire 33.2% compare
- 80 Senegal 32.9% compare
- 81 Benin 31.6% compare
- 82 Burkina Faso 22.0% compare
- 83 Mali 21.5% compare
- 84 Sierra Leone 21.4% compare
More education data for UNICEF: World
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 314.34 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 336.69 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.4208 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 206.38 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual -0.3082 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 268.06 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 129.28 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 1.15 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: World?
- Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female in UNICEF: World was 84.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in UNICEF: World?
- The highest recorded value was 84.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female recorded in UNICEF: World?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.3% in 1976.
- How does UNICEF: World rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female?
- UNICEF: World ranks 81st out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, female rising or falling in UNICEF: World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: World 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release