Literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan

Pakistan: Literacy rate vs gdp per capita was 58.86 in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
58.86
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
79th
of 89 countries
All-time high
59.13
in 2017
All-time low
25.73
in 1981
Years of data
16
1981–2021

Literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan, 1981–2021

02040601981200120211981: 25.71998: 42.72005: 49.92006: 54.12007: 52.12008: 55.52009: 54.92010: 55.42011: 54.72012: 56.82013: 55.62014: 572017: 59.12018: 572019: 582021: 58.9

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Pakistan recorded 58.86 for literacy rate vs gdp per capita in 2021.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 7.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan peaked at 59.13 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 25.73, in 1981.

That places Pakistan 79th out of 89 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.

Literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan, year by year

Annual values for Literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan, 1981 to 2021.
Year Value Change
1981 25.73 —
1998 42.7 +66.0%
2005 49.87 +16.8%
2006 54.15 +8.6%
2007 52.14 -3.7%
2008 55.53 +6.5%
2009 54.89 -1.2%
2010 55.38 +0.9%
2011 54.74 -1.2%
2012 56.76 +3.7%
2013 55.59 -2.1%
2014 56.98 +2.5%
2017 59.13 +3.8%
2018 57.01 -3.6%
2019 58 +1.7%
2021 58.86 +1.5%

Pakistan compared with similar countries

  • Pakistan's 58.86 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 78.16, 75% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
  • Pakistan's 58.86 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 94.44, 62% of the median. (15 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1998 +66.0% 25.73 42.7

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 25.73 25.73 25.73 1
1990s 42.7 42.7 42.7 1
2000s 53.32 49.87 55.53 5
2010s 56.7 54.74 59.13 8
2020s 58.86 58.86 58.86 1

Countries ranked near Pakistan

  1. 76 Morocco 64.26 compare
  2. 77 Mozambique 61.67 compare
  3. 78 Ethiopia 60.46 compare
  4. 80 Benin 51.38 compare
  5. 81 Senegal 50.36 compare
  6. 82 Cote d'Ivoire 50 compare

See the full ranking of 89 places →

More education data for Pakistan

All data for Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan?
Literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan was 58.86 in 2021, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest literacy rate vs gdp per capita recorded in Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 59.13 in 2017.
What is the lowest literacy rate vs gdp per capita recorded in Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 25.73 in 1981.
How does Pakistan rank for literacy rate vs gdp per capita?
Pakistan ranks 79th out of 89 countries with data for 2021.
Is literacy rate vs gdp per capita rising or falling in Pakistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Pakistan data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rate vs gdp per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/literacy-rate-vs-gdp-per-capita/pakistan/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/literacy-rate-vs-gdp-per-capita/pakistan/">Literacy rate vs gdp per capita in Pakistan</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Literacy rate vs gdp per capita
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
89 places, 916 data points, 1975–2024
Last refreshed