Türkiye: Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Türkiye's literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) fell 0.00756 on 2021 (from 1 to 0.99).

Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2021), the average change was +0.00231 and a typical year strayed about 0.00658 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.01 in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.01 in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 15% of the movement over 9 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2022, Türkiye had the 8th highest value of the 12 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Türkiye in the 2022 ranking

• Thailand — 5th of 12: 1
• Philippines — 6th of 12: 1
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 7th of 12: 0.99
• Togo — 9th of 12: 0.94
• Burkina Faso — 10th of 12: 0.93
• Ethiopia — 11th of 12: 0.92

What this measures

Gender parity index for youth literacy rate is the ratio of females to males ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.

Limitations: 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. And 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.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 21 values

Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) in nearby economies

• Armenia — 1 (2023)
• Azerbaijan — 1 (2023)
• Georgia — 1 (2024)
• Spain — 1 (2021)

More education data for Türkiye

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 4 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 10 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 8 (2025)
• School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) — 105.89% (2023)
• School enrollment, tertiary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.07 (2023)
• Primary education, pupils — 5.54 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 102.44% (2023)
• School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) — 110% (2023)
• School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Türkiye's literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI)?

0.99 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1975?

It is up 32.33% from 0.75 in 1975 (0.6% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1 in 2016 and the lowest 0.75 in 1975.

How does Türkiye rank?

8th highest of 12 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) unusual for Türkiye?

In 2022, Türkiye's literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) fell 0.00756 on 2021 (from 1 to 0.99). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2021), the average change was +0.00231 and a typical year strayed about 0.00658 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.ADT.1524.LT.FM.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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