Global Literacy Rate by Age Group and Sex (2016)
Key Findings
About This Dataset
Global Literacy Rate by Age Group and Sex (2016)Youth (aged 15-24) consistently show the highest literacy rates across all gender categories, reflecting improved access to education over time. The elderly population (65+) has the lowest literacy rates, with women at 73% compared to men at 83%, highlighting historical gender inequalities in education access. The gender parity index of 0.92 for adults overall indicates women remain measurably behind men in literacy globally, while the youth GPI of 0.96 signals that the gap is narrowing significantly with younger generations - a promising trend for future parity.
Data Insights
Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart
Methodology & source
- Data source
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics
- Coverage
- 12 entities · 2016 · 12 observations
- Measure
- Literacy Rate (%)
- Last updated
- 29 June 2026
- Compiled by
- The ANYSTAT team, from the source above
- Values use the measure and unit named on this page. Consult the dataset description and cited source for coverage, definitions and any unit conversions. Displayed values may be rounded for readability.
- Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2016.
Data Sources & References
All external sources cited in this dataset
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