according to the world development indicators infant mortality rates dropped from deaths per live births on average in to deaths per live births in likewise life expectancy at birth rose from years in to years in with women living on average years longer than men in both and in fact literacy rates in the mena region for females has jumped a little more than percentage points from approximately in to in figure with significant improvements in gross tertiary enrolment in egypt and lebanon and in literacy rates in jordan the palestinian authority and qatar