Literacy rate, youth female in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Literacy rate, youth female was 98.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, youth female in Latin America & Caribbean, 1974–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of females ages 15-24.
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 98.9% for literacy rate, youth female in 2024. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, youth female in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 98.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 86.5%, in 1974.
That places Latin America & Caribbean 13th out of 40 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Literacy rate, youth female in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of females ages 15-24 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 86.5% | — |
| 1975 | 86.6% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 87.0% | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 87.5% | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 88.0% | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 88.4% | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 88.7% | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 89.1% | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 89.4% | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 89.8% | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 90.1% | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 90.5% | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 90.8% | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 91.0% | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 91.3% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 91.8% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 92.2% | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 92.7% | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 93.2% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 93.6% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 94.1% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 94.5% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 94.8% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 94.9% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 95.1% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 95.3% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 95.5% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 95.7% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 96.0% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 96.7% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 96.9% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 97.0% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 97.0% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 97.2% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 97.4% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 97.6% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 97.6% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 98.0% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 98.2% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 98.1% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 98.4% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 98.5% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 98.6% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 98.6% | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 98.7% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 98.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 98.7% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 98.7% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 98.8% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 98.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 87.4% | 86.5% | 88.4% | 6 |
| 1980s | 90.2% | 88.7% | 91.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 94.0% | 92.2% | 95.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 96.7% | 95.5% | 97.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 98.3% | 97.6% | 98.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.8% | 98.7% | 98.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More education data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3.34 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 63.30 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 61.44 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.1923 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0928 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 22.1% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, youth female in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Literacy rate, youth female in Latin America & Caribbean was 98.9% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest literacy rate, youth female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 98.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, youth female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 86.5% in 1974.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for literacy rate, youth female?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 13th out of 40 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, youth female rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.