In which regions are literacy rates the lowest?

Most of the countries with the lowest literacy are located in South Asia, West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa—regions which also include most of the poorest countries in the world.

What country has the lowest rate of literacy?

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the country with the lowest adult literacy rate (defined as the percentage of people aged 15 years and above who can read and write) as of 2021 is Burkina Faso, a country in West Africa. Its adult literacy rate is estimated to be around 27%.

Who is the lowest literacy rate?

Bihar is the least literate state in India with a literacy rate of 63.82%.

Which region of the world has the highest illiteracy rate?

Southern Asia is home to almost one-half of the global illiterate population (49%). In addition, 27% of all illiterate adults live in sub-Saharan Africa, 10% in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, 9% in Northern Africa and Western Asia, and about 4% in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Which region has the highest literacy rate?

Central Asia has the highest literacy rate. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest literacy rate. There is no any country, which has more female rate than male, expect where there is full literacy rate as central Asia. Literacy rate of the country is an indicator of its socio-economic development.

The Rise of Global Literacy Rate Since 1980

What is the lowest literacy rate in Europe?

Literacy rate - Country rankings

The highest value was in Latvia: 99.89 percent and the lowest value was in Malta: 94.94 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

What is Russia's literacy rate?

Literacy Rate in Russia (2010-2021, %)

The literacy rate reached 99.69% in 2021. Between 2010 to 2021, the literacy rate of Russia decreased by 0.02%. On a year-on-year basis, the literacy rate decreased slightly in 2021.

What country has a 100% literacy rate?

Literacy Rates by Country

There are nine countries in the world that have a 100% literacy rate: Andorra, Finland, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and North Korea.

Which 4 countries have the lowest literacy rate?

The Geography of Illiteracy

South Sudan ranks lowest of them all, with a literacy rate of just 27%, followed by Afghanistan at 28.1%, Burkina Faso at 28.7%, Niger at 28.7%, Mali at 33.4%, Chad at 35.4%, Somalia at 37.8%, Ethiopia at 39%, Guinea at 41% and Benin at 42.4%.

Why is US literacy so low?

The burden of poverty places significant constraints on individuals' educational opportunities. Limited access to books, educational resources, and enrichment activities can hinder literacy development, perpetuating the cycle of low literacy rates within families and communities.

What country has the lowest literacy rate in the Middle East?

Six countries (Iraq, Mauritania, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan and Yemen) are still burdened by over 35% illiteracy rates, with Iraq and Mauritania being overburdened with around 60% of their population being illiterate.

What is the literacy rate in Palestine?

The illiteracy rate among the Palestinian population (aged 15 years and above) in Palestine decreased during the period 1997-2022 from 13.9% to 2.2%. The rate declined from 7.8% in 1997 to 1.1% in 2022 among males and declined from 20.3% to 3.3% among females during the same period.

What's the literacy rate in USA?

Nationwide, on average, 79% of U.S. adults are literate in 2022. 21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2022. 54% of adults have a literacy below sixth-grade level. 21% of Americans 18 and older are illiterate in 2022.

What is the literacy rate in Japan?

Japan's adult literacy rate is at around 99 percent. According to the results of OECD's PISA Programme, Japanese fifteen-year-olds showcased high levels of education in the international comparison, scoring higher than the OECD standard in all rounds of assessment.

Does Brazil have a low literacy rate?

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. Brazil literacy rate for 2021 was 94.30%, a 1.07% increase from 2018.

Why is Portugal's literacy rate so low?

Portugal only got a fully working educational system in the 1960s. Before this, even though basic education was mandatory for all children, many remote areas lacked schools and child labour was common in poor settings and rural areas. In the early 20th century education was still either expensive or run by the church.

Does Portugal have a low literacy rate?

The literacy rate reached 99.76% in 2021. Between 2010 to 2021, the literacy rate of Portugal increased at a low-digit growth. On a year-on-year basis, the literacy rate increased by a low digit growth in 2021.

Why is North Korea literacy rate so high?

Part of the reason is the influence of Confucianism in Korea, and the genius of the hangul language, invented by King Sejong hundreds of years ago. It can be learned by anyone in less than a week. There is a great emphasis in education in both South AND North Korea, and they both have extremely high literacy rates.

What is the literacy rate in Afghanistan?

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. Afghanistan literacy rate for 2021 was 37.27%, a 5.82% increase from 2011.

Why do countries have low literacy rates?

Illiteracy is caused by several factors, including absenteeism, repetition, and dropping out of school. Low school enrollment rates are caused by both in-school factors, such as the availability, quality, and efficiency of schools, and out-of-school factors, such as direct and opportunity costs.