Globally literacy rates have been rising over time, but women still make up the majority of illiterate adults in every region except Central Asia.
UIS data for reference year 2013 indicate that women account for 479 million of the global adult illiterate population. The greatest gaps in literacy rates are found in the Arab States (86% male vs. 70% female adult literacy rate), South and West Asia (77% vs. 58%), and sub-Saharan Africa (68% vs. 52%).