Literacy rates of older vs. younger population in Maldives
Maldives: Literacy rates of older vs. younger population was 93.6% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates of older vs. younger population in Maldives, 1977–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Maldives recorded 93.6% for literacy rates of older vs. younger population in 2019. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
The figure is up 29.5% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates of older vs. younger population in Maldives peaked at 93.6% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 72.3%, in 2017.
That places Maldives 14th out of 85 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Literacy rates of older vs. younger population in Maldives, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 73.4% | — |
| 1985 | 84.8% | +15.4% |
| 1990 | 90.3% | +6.5% |
| 1995 | 90.0% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 90.0% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 92.0% | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 92.8% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 90.2% | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 72.3% | -19.9% |
| 2019 | 93.6% | +29.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 73.4% | 73.4% | 73.4% | 1 |
| 1980s | 84.8% | 84.8% | 84.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 90.1% | 90.0% | 90.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 91.0% | 90.0% | 92.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 87.2% | 72.3% | 93.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More education data for Maldives
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4,001 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 690.42 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 10,644 (2022)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 5,988 (2022)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates of older vs. younger population in Maldives?
- Literacy rates of older vs. younger population in Maldives was 93.6% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rates of older vs. younger population recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 93.6% in 2019.
- What is the lowest literacy rates of older vs. younger population recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 72.3% in 2017.
- How does Maldives rank for literacy rates of older vs. younger population?
- Maldives ranks 14th out of 85 countries with data for 2019.
- Is literacy rates of older vs. younger population rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rates of older vs. younger population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the population aged 65 years and older who can read and write.