The global literacy rate for all people aged 15 and above is 86.3%. The global literacy rate for all males is 90.0%, and the rate for all females is 82.7%. The rate varies throughout the world, with developed nations having a rate of 99.2% (2013), South and West Asia having 70.2% (2015), and sub-Saharan Africa at 64.0% (2015).[1] Over 75% of the world's 781 million illiterate adults are found in South Asia, West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, and women represent almost two-thirds of all illiterate adults globally.[2]
List of UN member states by age group and gender disparity
Data published by UNESCO using the following definitions:[3]
Youth: Percentage of people aged 15 to 24 years who can both read and write, with understanding, a short simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, "literacy" also encompasses "numeracy", the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations.
Adult: Percentage of the population aged 25 years and over who can both read and write, with understanding, a short simple statement on his/her everyday life. Generally, "literacy" also encompasses "numeracy", the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations.
Elderly: Percentage of the population aged 65 years and over who can both read and write, with understanding, a short simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, "literacy" also encompasses "numeracy", the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations.
Gender Parity Index (GPI): The gender parity index (GPI) of the youth literacy rate is the ratio of the female to male literacy rates of the population aged 15 to 24 years. A GPI value between 0.97 and 1.03 is usually interpreted to indicate gender parity.
"*"indicates "Literacy in country or territory" or "Education in country or territory" links.
