Literacy rate, youth total in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Literacy rate, youth total was 86.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate, youth total in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1974–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of people ages 15-24.
Analysis
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan recorded 86.9% for literacy rate, youth total in 2024. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate, youth total in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan peaked at 86.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 54.7%, in 1974.
That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 28th 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 total in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % of people ages 15-24 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 54.7% | — |
| 1975 | 54.9% | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 55.2% | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 55.7% | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 56.2% | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 56.8% | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 57.3% | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 57.8% | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 58.6% | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 59.4% | +1.3% |
| 1984 | 60.3% | +1.6% |
| 1985 | 61.3% | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 62.2% | +1.5% |
| 1987 | 63.1% | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 64.0% | +1.4% |
| 1989 | 64.8% | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 66.4% | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 67.5% | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 69.3% | +2.7% |
| 1993 | 70.3% | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 71.0% | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 72.2% | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 73.1% | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 73.9% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 74.7% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 75.5% | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 76.2% | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 77.1% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 77.8% | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 79.1% | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 79.7% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 80.2% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 80.4% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 80.8% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 82.2% | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 82.6% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 83.0% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 82.7% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 83.9% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 84.1% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 84.5% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 85.0% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 84.6% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 84.9% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 83.4% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 83.7% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 84.4% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 85.0% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 85.7% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 86.3% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 86.9% | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 55.6% | 54.7% | 56.8% | 6 |
| 1980s | 60.9% | 57.3% | 64.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 71.4% | 66.4% | 75.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 79.6% | 76.2% | 82.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.0% | 82.7% | 85.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.6% | 84.4% | 86.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
More education data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3.29 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.113 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 68.09 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 91.90 million (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 63.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 31.7% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.65 % change on previous year (2024)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan →
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate, youth total in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- Literacy rate, youth total in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan was 86.9% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest literacy rate, youth total recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 86.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest literacy rate, youth total recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.7% in 1974.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan rank for literacy rate, youth total?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 28th out of 40 groups with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate, youth total rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.