IDA total - Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above)

Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) in IDA total was 60.15 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 39 years was 60.15 in 2020, while its lowest value was 33.95 in 1981.

Definition: Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/)

See also:

Year Value
1981 33.95
1982 34.39
1983 34.78
1984 35.24
1985 35.72
1986 36.18
1987 36.83
1988 37.60
1989 38.18
1990 38.89
1991 39.66
1992 40.07
1993 40.70
1994 41.67
1995 42.45
1996 43.28
1997 44.23
1998 45.62
1999 46.52
2000 46.00
2001 46.94
2002 47.40
2003 47.99
2004 49.08
2005 49.06
2006 51.15
2007 48.88
2008 50.31
2009 50.88
2010 51.63
2011 52.12
2012 53.00
2013 53.92
2014 54.95
2015 55.96
2016 57.60
2017 58.55
2018 58.92
2019 59.55
2020 60.15

Development Relevance: Literacy rate is an outcome indicator to evaluate educational attainment. This data can predict the quality of future labor force and can be used in ensuring policies for life skills for men and women. It can be also used as a proxy instrument to see the effectiveness of education system; a high literacy rate suggests the capacity of an education system to provide a large population with opportunities to acquire literacy skills. The accumulated achievement of education is fundamental for further intellectual growth and social and economic development, although it doesn't necessarily ensure the quality of education. Literate women implies that they can seek and use information for the betterment of the health, nutrition and education of their household members. Literate women are also empowered to play a meaningful role.

Limitations and Exceptions: In practice, literacy is difficult to measure. Estimating literacy rates requires census or survey measurements under controlled conditions. Many countries report the number of literate people from self-reported data. Some use educational attainment data as a proxy but apply different lengths of school attendance or levels of completion. Ant there is a trend among recent national and international surveys toward using a direct reading test of literacy skills. Because definitions and methods of data collection differ across countries, data should be used cautiously.

Other Notes: Data retrieved via API in March 2019. For detailed information on the observation level (e.g. National Estimation, UIS Estimation, or Category not applicable), please visit UIS.Stat (http://data.uis.unesco.org/).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Literacy statistics for most countries cover the population ages 15 and older, but some include younger ages or are confined to age ranges that tend to inflate literacy rates. The youth literacy rate for ages 15-24 reflects recent progress in education. It measures the accumulated outcomes of primary education over the previous 10 years or so by indicating the proportion of the population who have passed through the primary education system and acquired basic literacy and numeracy skills. Generally, literacy also encompasses numeracy, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. Data on literacy are compiled by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics based on national censuses and household surveys and, for countries without recent literacy data, using the Global Age-Specific Literacy Projection Model (GALP). For detailed information, see www.uis.unesco.org.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Education Indicators

Sub-Topic: Outcomes